Press Complaints Director Tim Toulmin summarizes the importance of a self-imposed ‘voluntary code of ethics’ for bloggers by saying “If you want to see how the newspaper industry would look like if it was unchecked, then look at the internet.”
While he is opposed to government regulation of the internet, he does believe that there should be a self-imposed code that would cover accuracy of the content, discrimination and intrusion, among other things.
This is a wonderful idea because it will force bloggers to research their topics more thoroughly and use more restraint when writing.Too often nowadays you see bloggers reporting with inaccurate, incomplete, or unsubstantiated information, which then spreads through the internet like wildfire.
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