I suppose the obvious (nerd) joke is that all blogs already abide by code in order to get read (wakka wakka). Seriously though for a second, I don’t have a particular problem with a voluntary code (so long as it doesn’t stipulate a minimum number of posts per month which I would no doubt fail to abide by), but I can’t see what good it will do. Responsible people will continue to behave responsibly, while irresponsible people won’t sign up to it in the first place. And it’s not as if readers will be particularly bothered who is or isn’t signed up.
There is, no doubt, a lot of offensive stuff out there, but so what? What tangible harm does it do that isn’t already covered by existing legislation?
I can’t help but feel that talk about voluntary codes is code for something quite involuntary. And it isn’t as if the Press Complaints Commission are the paradigm of self-regulation.
Well, somebody somewhere is rubbing their hands in anticipatory glee at the thought of how much money they’re going to make advising people how to get around the codes.
It’s astonishing how such stupid people are able to masquerade as reasonable adults.
Let me guess – five years after the ‘voluntary’ code is brought in, ‘someone’ will decide its not working – and bring in ‘reforms’ designed to protect ‘hard-working families’ and ‘faith communities’ which allow the government to serve “Anti Social Electronic Behaviour Orders’ on those who do not comply.
Actually, as far as I can see there is nothing to stop magistrates from using ASBOs in this way even now. Accepted though, the government won’t want anyone doing anything until they has specifically legislated for it, as is their wont.