Press watchdog the Press Complaints Commission is calling for self-regulation of the Internet – to build confidence in the brand.

In a speech to mark the launch of the organisation’s annual report, chairman Sir Christopher Meyer said that becoming subject to industry standards would help consumers decide on the quality of information on offer.

He said: “What chance is there of successfully applying a set of statutory rules to information transmitted online – where anyone can be a publisher and there is no spectrum scarcity?

“My personal view is that this new and exciting area cannot be left in a regulatory vacuum. To the contrary, it cries out for the sound principles of self-regulation. I am pleased to report that there has been constructive dialogue between the industry and the PCC about this, the results of which will become clear before too long. I am optimistic about the PCC’s ability to rise to this challenge.

“What is more, there is a clear commercial advantage in news providers – newspapers and magazines in our case – voluntarily subjecting their online offerings to the Code of Practice: it helps consumers distinguish between the quality of publishers’ information and that contained on sites where no such standards apply. It also helps build trust in the brand.”

Possible breaches of the Code of Practice – by clause

He also revealed that corrections – contrary to popular belief – got prominent positioning in newspapers.

He said: “Over three quarters of corrections and apologies appear either on the same page or further forward than the article under complaint. Add those that appear in regular correction columns – which many argue have a prominence of their own – and the figure rises to 82 per cent.”

He also asserted that forcing editors to print corrections was a more effective penalty than fines, when companies could factor in possible financial penalties and thus remove the threat of sanction.

He said: “Three years on I feel even more strongly than when I started at the PCC that the power of naming and shaming is a more potent sanction than the ability to impose a few thousand pounds worth of fines – if ever a proportionate tariff could be established.

“Far better to hit sinning editors where it hurts most: in their self-esteem and professional reputation by obliging them to publish prominently and unedited the full text of the censure.”

He added: “Fifteen years of the PCC has changed the culture of an entire industry.

“Editors and journalists now routinely consider the information they have received – and how they have obtained it – against the requirements of the Code.

“The public has a well established, effective framework within which to complain about the press.

“Thousands of people have obtained redress for inaccuracies or intrusions, thousands more been given advice before things go wrong.”

54 per cent of privacy rulings concern the
regional press (source: PCC Annual Report)