The new problem faced by social networking sites...

Social networking services are services based online which focus on bringing people together through common interests, activities and events. They also act as a means of staying in contact with people we know. In fact, this is what most people use it for. But recently the question that arises is: How private is it?

Social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter and Friendster have soared in popularity over the last few years. In fact, Facebook apparently boasts 10, 000 people a day joining the online bandwagon. The ability to interact through chatting, messaging, emailing, videos, voice chats, file sharing, blogging and discussion groups is in a sense a fine phenomena. But at what price?

Fraud on social networking sites is rife. BBC1’s Watchdog investigated by creating a fictional facebook account named “Amba” which appeared alongside a cartoon picture of a girl. “Amba” then randomly sent friend requests to 100 people, 35 of whom readily accepted. This was despite her being a complete stranger. One would think this is highly odd, but according to a Facebook spokesperson – hardly. She said: "A lot of people using Facebook are trying to increase the size of their network and want to have as many friends as possible - to the point where they'll befriend people they don't even know."

The next step for “Amba” was easy. She looked through the information provided to her by her new friends on their profiles. And from there, it was a ride. Watchdog was able to open a number of online bank accounts as well as get a credit card for many of the fictional character’s friends. All it had taken was a name, full date of birth and hometown. Equally susceptible are the common passwords of mother’s maiden name or name of pet.

We do live in a strange world. We give out so much information about ourselves to be advertised around the Internet and we make friends with random people who have “interesting” online profiles. However, if somebody attempted to speak to us on the street, chances are we would not give them the time of day.

It is now obvious that we live in this online-age where its reality is different from our day-to-day reality. We cannot push it back – we have already entered. In a sense we must embrace it with greater caution. Personal information must be kept minimal. Not only for the sake of fraudsters, but to maintain an acceptable public representation. This is especially so because the new online-age has already proposed employers checking out a potential employee’s facebook profile before deciding to take them on. So it may even be possible that the drunken pictures a friend put up from last Friday, may determine whether or not you get the job. Social networking sites aren’t all that bad. Silly criminals have actually got their deserved comeuppance through the sites. Which raises the question of privacy again. And the only answer that I can dish out is – really, is there any such thing as privacy online?

NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE PUBLISHING IN THE U.K.

Editors’ Code of Practice
This is the newspaper and periodical industry’s Code of Practice. It is framed and revised by the Editors’ Code Committee made up of independent editors of national, regional and local newspapers and magazines. The Press Complaints Commission, which has a majority of lay members, is charged with enforcing the Code, using it to adjudicate complaints. It was ratified by the PCC on the 1 August 2007. Clauses marked* are covered by exceptions relating to the public interest.

The Code
All members of the press have a duty to maintain the highest professional standards.The Code, which includes this preamble and the public interest exceptions below, sets the benchmark for those ethical standards, protecting both the rights of the individual and the public's right to know. It is the cornerstone of the system of selfregulationto which the industry has made a binding commitment.

It is essential that an agreed code be honoured not only to the letter but in the full spirit. It should not be interpreted so narrowly as to compromise its commitment to respect the rights of the individual,nor so broadly that it constitutes an unnecessary interference with freedom of expression or prevents publication in the public interest.


It is the responsibility of editors and publishers to apply the Code to editorial material in both printed and online versions of publications. They should take care to ensure it is observed rigorously by all editorial staff and external contributors, including non-journalists.


Editors should co-operate swiftly with the PCC in the resolution of complaints. Any publication judged to have breached the Code must print the adjudication in full and with due prominence, including headline reference to the PCC.

1 Accuracy
i) The press must take care not to publish
inaccurate, misleading or distorted
information, including pictures
ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading
statement or distortion once recognised
must be corrected, promptly and with due
prominence, and - where appropriate - an
apology published.
iii) The press, whilst free to be partisan, must
distinguish clearly between comment,
conjecture and fact.
iv) A publication must report fairly and
accurately the outcome of an action for
defamation to which it has been a party,
unless an agreed settlement states otherwise,
or an agreed statement is published.


2 Opportunity to reply
A fair opportunity for reply to inaccuracies
must be given when reasonably called for.


3 * Privacy
i) Everyone is entitled to respect for his or
her private and family life, home, health
and correspondence, including digital
communications. Editors will be expected to
justify intrusions into any individual's private
life without consent.
ii) It is unacceptable to photograph individuals
in a private place without their consent.
Note - Private places are public or private
property where there is a reasonable
expectation of privacy.


4 * Harassment
i) Journalists must not engage in intimidation,
harassment or persistent pursuit.
ii) They must not persist in questioning,
telephoning, pursuing or photographing
individuals once asked to desist; nor remain
on their property when asked to leave and
must not follow them.
iii) Editors must ensure these principles are
observed by those working for them and
take care not to use non-compliant material
from other sources.


5 Intrusion into grief or shock
i) In cases involving personal grief or shock,
enquiries and approaches must be made with
sympathy and discretion and publication
handled sensitively. This should not restrict the
right to report legal proceedings, such
as inquests.
* ii) When reporting suicide, care should be
taken to avoid excessive detail about the
method used.


6 * Children
i) Young people should be free to
complete their time at school without
unnecessary intrusion.
ii) A child under 16 must not be interviewed or
photographed on issues involving their own or
another child’s welfare unless a custodial
parent or similarly responsible adult consents.
iii) Pupils must not be approached or
photographed at school without the
permission of the school authorities.
iv) Minors must not be paid for material involving
children’s welfare, nor parents or guardians for
material about their children or wards, unless
it is clearly in the child's interest.
v) Editors must not use the fame, notoriety or
position of a parent or guardian as sole
justification for publishing details of a child’s
private life.


7 * Children in sex cases
1. The press must not, even if legally free
to do so, identify children under 16 who
are victims or witnesses in cases involving
sex offences.
2. In any press report of a case involving a
sexual offence against a child -
i) The child must not be identified.
ii) The adult may be identified.
iii) The word "incest" must not be used
where a child victim might be identified.
iv) Care must be taken that nothing in the
report implies the relationship between
the accused and the child.


8 * Hospitals
i) Journalists must identify themselves and
obtain permission from a responsible
executive before entering non-public areas
of hospitals or similar institutions to
pursue enquiries.
ii) The restrictions on intruding into privacy are
particularly relevant to enquiries about
individuals in hospitals or similar institutions.


9 * Reporting of Crime
i) Relatives or friends of persons convicted or
accused of crime should not generally be
identified without their consent, unless they
are genuinely relevant to the story.
ii) Particular regard should be paid to the
potentially vulnerable position of children
who witness, or are victims of, crime. This
should not restrict the right to report legal
proceedings.


10 * Clandestine devices and subterfuge
i) The press must not seek to obtain or publish
material acquired by using hidden cameras
or clandestine listening devices; or by
intercepting private or mobile telephone calls,
messages or emails; or by the unauthorised
removal of documents, or photographs; or by
accessing digitally-held private information
without consent.
ii) Engaging in misrepresentation or
subterfuge, including by agents or
intermediaries, can generally be justified only
in the public interest and then only when the
material cannot be obtained by other means.


11 Victims of sexual assault
The press must not identify victims of sexual
assault or publish material likely to
contribute to such identification unless there
is adequate justification and they are legally
free to do so.


12 Discrimination
i) The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative
reference to an individual's race, colour,
religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any
physical or mental illness or disability.
ii) Details of an individual's race, colour, religion,
sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or
disability must be avoided unless genuinely
relevant to the story.


13 Financial journalism
i) Even where the law does not prohibit
it, journalists must not use for their
own profit financial information they receive
in advance of its general publication, nor
should they pass such information to others.
ii) They must not write about shares or
securities in whose performance they know
that they or their close families have a
significant financial interest without
disclosing the interest to the editor or
financial editor.
iii) They must not buy or sell, either directly or
through nominees or agents, shares or
securities about which they have written
recently or about which they intend to write
in the near future.


14 Confidential sources
Journalists have a moral obligation to protect
confidential sources of information.


15 Witness payments in criminal trials
i) No payment or offer of payment to a witness
- or any person who may reasonably be
expected to be called as a witness - should
be made in any case once proceedings are
active as defined by the Contempt of Court
Act 1981.
This prohibition lasts until the suspect
has been freed unconditionally by
police without charge or bail or the
proceedings are otherwise discontinued; or
has entered a guilty plea to the court; or, in
the event of a not guilty plea, the court has
announced its verdict.
* ii) Where proceedings are not yet active but are
likely and foreseeable, editors must not
make or offer payment to any person who
may reasonably be expected to be called as a
witness, unless the information concerned
ought demonstrably to be published in the
public interest and there is an over-riding
need to make or promise payment for this to
be done; and all reasonable steps have been
taken to ensure no financial dealings
influence the evidence those witnesses give.
In no circumstances should such payment be
conditional on the outcome of a trial.
* iii) Any payment or offer of payment made to a
person later cited to give evidence in
proceedings must be disclosed to the
prosecution and defence. The witness must
be advised of this requirement.


16 * Payment to criminals
i) Payment or offers of payment for stories,
pictures or information, which seek to
exploit a particular crime or to glorify or
glamorise crime in general, must not
be made directly or via agents to convicted
or confessed criminals or to their
associates – who may include family, friends
and colleagues.
ii) Editors invoking the public interest to
justify payment or offers would need to
demonstrate that there was good reason to
believe the public interest would be served.
If, despite payment, no public interest
emerged, then the material should not
be published.


PCC Guidance Notes
Court Reporting (1994)
Reporting of international sporting events (1998)
Prince William and privacy (1999)
On the reporting of cases involving paedophiles (2000)
The Judiciary and harassment (2003)
Refugees and Asylum Seekers (2003)
Lottery Guidance Note (2004)
On the reporting of people accused of crime (2004)
Data Protection Act, Journalism and the PCC Code (2005)
Editorial co-operation (2005)
Financial Journalism: Best Practice Note (2005)
On the reporting of mental health issues (2006)
The extension of the PCC’s remit to include editorial
audio-visual material on websites (2007)
Copies of the above can be obtained online at www.pcc.org.uk
Press Complaints Commission
Halton House, 20/23 Holborn, London EC1N 2JD
Telephone: 020 7831 0022 Fax: 020 7831 0025
Textphone: 020 7831 0123 (for deaf or hard of hearing people)
Helpline: 0845 600 2757

The public interest
There may be exceptions to the clauses marked * where they can be
demonstrated to be in the public interest.
1. The public interest includes, but is not confined to:
i) Detecting or exposing crime or serious impropriety.
ii) Protecting public health and safety.
iii) Preventing the public from being misled by an action or statement of
an individual or organisation.
2. There is a public interest in freedom of expression itself.
3. Whenever the public interest is invoked, the PCC will require editors
to demonstrate fully how the public interest was served.
4. The PCC will consider the extent to which material is already
in the public domain, or will become so.
5. In cases involving children under 16, editors must
demonstrate an exceptional public interest to over-ride
the normally paramount interest of the child.

What advantages do podcasts have over traditional radio?

In an age where multi media is quickly gaining greater momentum, the new media of podcasts are not falling behind. Already over 15 million people have downloaded podcasts according to Nielsen/Net Ratings. By 2010 it is estimated that 56 million people will also have done so.

This fairly new media of podcasts are simply digital recordings of radio broadcasts or similar programs, which are audio files published on to the Internet. They can then become readily available for listeners to download on to their computers, mobile phones, MP3 players, iPod’s and so on.

The popularity of podcasting is without a doubt due to its recent technological edge over traditional radio. A listener can choose to listen to pretty much whatever they want, when they want and as many times as they like. This definitely beats the inconvenience of abiding by radio times. Moreover, once a listener has subscribed to a particular program’s podcast, their podcasting application regularly checks for new episodes making them more accessible. The traditional radio has never been known to work so hard.

Podcasts are also becoming increasingly useful as a means of educating. Teachers can easily download files for free thus not touching the school’s budget and create a listening library of relevant topics for students. This becomes much easier than the tapes, which will soon disappear – well each to their own. Foreign students may also find podcasting helpful for speaking and listening purposes alongside the added bonus of easy accessibility. After all, these days it’s more likely the average student has a technological gadget of some sort to attach to the ever-growing Internet as opposed to a radio.

Marketing is also very popular through podcasting. This is because files can be posted on a website and distributed using RSS technology ensuring that more listeners are gained. This is all done at a very low cost considering the expansion of the new media. Podcasts also draw much search engine traffic and regular podcast programming can generate repeat audiences. Radio itself is a powerful tool in marketing, but the growth of podcasting in terms of marketing cannot be overlooked.

Podcasts are quite easy to make and are also easy to subscribe to as well as access ‘on the go.’ Having an iPod with programs on it is much more useful than a mobile phone with a radio connection that disappears once on the underground.

However, nothing comes without any disadvantages whatsoever. In order for podcasts to be accessed having access to the Internet is vital. For today’s day and age this does not seem like much of a point to discuss, but it is important to know that not all of the UK’s households have an Internet connection. Additionally, downloading the podcasts may require a little bit of practice unlike the flicking on of a radio. Podcasting was never designed for two-way interaction or audience participation therefore this new media does not share the community vibe a radio would. What is more, computers do need sufficient bandwidth for downloading the MP3 audio files.