Voluntary code for blogs 'needed'
Blogs and other internet sites should be covered by a voluntary code of practice similar to that for newspapers in the UK, a conference has been told. — Press Complaints Commission director Tim Toulmin said he opposed government regulation of the internet …
Context & Ripple Effects
The call arrives as online creators were already facing possible spillover from EU broadcast rules aimed at amateur video bloggers. Tim Toulmin's position for the Press Complaints Commission frames a voluntary code as an alternative to direct government oversight, extending a press-style accountability model to blogs without treating them as traditional publishers.
First-order effects
- The Press Complaints Commission gains a basis to argue that bloggers and other internet publishers can adopt shared standards voluntarily rather than be placed under government regulation.
- Blog and website operators face a new expectation to consider whether press-style complaint and conduct rules should apply to their publishing practices.
Second-order effects
- The voluntary-code approach gives online publishers a route to distinguish editorial accountability from the broadcast-style regulatory treatment being considered for video bloggers.
- Government regulators face a clearer choice between accepting industry-led standards for internet publishing and pursuing formal rules for categories of online content.
Third-order effects
- If voluntary standards gain participation, internet governance may develop through codes and complaint mechanisms before statutory regulation; if they do not, the case for formal oversight strengthens.
The trend: Internet publishing is becoming a regulatory boundary case, with voluntary self-governance proposed as a way to manage harms without imposing traditional media rules wholesale.