Voluntary code for blogs needed??
The Press Complaints Commission are arguing for “self-imposed regulation“. Incidentally, you can judge the quality of the PCC’s grasp of internet technology, as you sit through the skip-intro to their site.
Director Tim Toulmin argues that “free speech” and “free press” are relative terms because views expressed on the internet are still governed by laws such as libel and data protection.
Sounds to me as if the PCC is trying to engineer itself a position in the information age, and like all quangos is clutching at power in an age where its remit is pretty redundant.
Moreover, Toulmin seems to underestimate the power of redress offered by blogging (”… there is no means of redress”). If I write defamatory comments about a company or individual, they can complain right here. Or they can run a counter-blog, both of which will show in a blog search.
Governments get very twitchy when they can’t control what people read and think. Do you think Stalin would approve of blogging, or the PCC?
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NOOOOOOOOOOO! PIE!
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