Usually the first thing that pops
into mind tends to make a good story for most bloggers. Sharing what’s on your
mind with the rest of the world is the primary goal. With the recent torch on
bloggers and internet users, the online platform seems not to be a safe place
to tread on. What was initially thought to be a captivating expression of opinion
turns out to be a cause of action for power hungry and insecure people; or
personal attacks on the writer by hateful web trolls. In the end you are left
to question your end game and the reason for writing, innocent as the initial
intention was. Blogging is continually growing in popularity. The reach of all
these sites from anywhere at the click of a link and the influence on readers
make bloggers a target for regulation.
The law isn't quite elaborate on regulating bloggers as it is on journalists who influence the public more than any other body. This leaves prosecutors grappling with what law to charge someone under for posting something that violates the complainant. After all one cannot be punished for an offence not prescribed under the law. The Media Council Act, 2013 is aimed at regulating Journalism. Interestingly, the Act infers to bloggers as journalists by virtue of their publication to the public of any written, audio, or video material and includes materials disseminated through the internet online. A line ought to be drawn between journalism and blogging. Journalists acquire educational training and are accredited by virtue of their training to practice. A blogger on the other hand is any person including a journalist, group of persons, corporate body or institution with a computer, knowledge and interest in a subject, and a will to communicate to anyone who’ll listen. Some do not know the first thing about what it entails to be a journalist.
Section 4 of the Media Council Act expresses that the Act shall apply media enterprises, journalists, media practitioners, foreign journalists accredited under the act and consumers of media services. Again, there’s the ambiguity. No mention of bloggers. It further establishes a code of conduct under Section 33 and a platform for complaints (Section 27) to anyone aggrieved by any publication or by the conduct of any journalist or media enterprise. So, Is a food blogger to be held liable for a recipe she publishes and the consumer gets food poisoning after trying it? A topical blogger reprimanded for having a view different from those of an influential or powerful individual?
The code of conduct requires a
person subject to the Act to write fair, accurate and unbiased stories on
matters of public interest, nothing that otherwise falls short of factual
accuracy and fairness. Such a provision will not rub off well with
entertainment bloggers whose posts are mostly founded on rumors or half-baked
facts to spur frenzy amongst fans.
The whole purpose of regulating
blogging and social media is to crush the idea that the internet is separate
from the concerns that have been attached to other previous media such as print
& main stream media. Regulation of blogging and use of social media (especially
users on Twitter and Facebook) emerges from the wake of continued cyber
attacks, hate speech, posts that incite violence, degraded morality and care-free
view that one cannot be held accountable for online publications. It is a
progressive venture and states such as Germany and U.S have started by
regulating adverts on blogs. The internet is with us to stay; soon there will be
strict rules that regulate publications or comments that violate the rights of
an individual or public interest. Hopefully such rules will not have any
retrospective effects, or a many will find their necks under the guillotine.
