Reportr.net

The newspaper watchdog in the UK, the Press Complaints Commission, is stepping into the debate over the use of material from social networking sites.

The head of the body, Tim Toulmin, told the BBC that the organisation has commissioned research to find out if people are aware that material they upload could be used by journalists.

It follows complaints to the PCC from people about material used by the press when they themselves are the subject of news stories. There appears to be growing public resentment over the practice “digital door-stepping“, with journalists seen as invading private online spaces, such as after the Virginia Tech shootings.

Toulmin suggests that the PCC should establish guidelines over the use of images, video and other content from social networking sites.

This is a controversial suggestion and journalists are likely to resist the idea of more regulation. In any case, the PCC guidance would only apply to newspapers.

The problem is that the way people use online social spaces is changing the definition of what we consider private. Material posted online is by its very nature public, and it intended to be shared.

But the intention is make it public to a network of friends and acquaintances, who are the intended audience for that material. After all, why would anyone be interested in seeing photos of your birthday party, or trip to the pub, apart from your friends?

Once the material is online, it is in the public domain, even though it was never intended to be made public. The BBC recently reflected on this in advice on social media, saying “the use of a picture by the BBC brings material to a much wider public than a personal website that would only be found with very specific search criteria”.

There is a need for journalists to be ethically responsible in their use of material from social networking sites. But there is also a need for people to be educated in the implications of uploading personal information to these semi-private spaces.