In an article on today’s Washington Post Web site (free subscription required) — “Teen Web Editor Drives Apple to Court Action Product Leaks Draw Suit” — Jonathan Finer looks into the Apple Computer vs Think Secret debacle and speaks with the site’s owner Nicholas M. Ciarelli, who goes by the pen name of Nick dePlume. “Ciarelli, now a 19-year-old Harvard University freshman, is part of a legion of Internet news gatherers whose influence is expanding as concern grows in some quarters about their accountability and journalistic standards,” writes Finer. “With the easy anonymity offered by online posting of tips and digital photographs, Web sites run by product buffs have caused headaches, and generated valuable buzz, for companies in many industries — including automobile and cell phone manufacturers — by leaking product information.” Thanks to MacMinute reader Keith Hall for this news tip.