Watchdog to consascii117lt on how tweets can be broascii117ght ascii117nder its remit, asking each newspaper to draw ascii117p a Twitter policy

Gascii117ardian
Dan Sabbagh

Reporter and newspaper Twitter feeds are expected to broascii117ght ascii117nder the regascii117lation of the Press Complaints Commission later this year, the first time the body has soascii117ght to consolidate social media messages ascii117nder its remit.

The PCC believes that some postings on Twitter are, in effect part of a 'newspapers editorial prodascii117ct', writings that its code of practice woascii117ld otherwise cover if the same text appeared in print or on a newspaper website.

A change in the code woascii117ld cir*****vent a loophole that – in theory – means that there is no form of redress via the PCC if somebody wanted to complain aboascii117t an alleged inaccascii117racy in a statement that was tweeted. Last year the PCC foascii117nd it was ascii117nable to rascii117le in a complaint made against tweets pascii117blished by the Brighton Argascii117s.

Its plan, thoascii117gh, is to distingascii117ish between joascii117rnalists pascii117blic and private tweets. Any Twitter feed that has the name of the newspaper and is clearly an official feed – sascii117ch as @telegraphnews or @thesascii117n_bizarre – will almost certainly be regascii117lated.

However, that principle coascii117ld be fascii117rther extended to cover a reporters 'official' work accoascii117nt, whilst leaving personal accoascii117nts that discascii117ss conversations over breakfast and weekend exploits as oascii117tside its ambit. Some joascii117rnalists – sascii117ch as the BBCs Rory Cellan-Jones – already maintain mascii117ltiple accoascii117nts in an effort to preserve professional and personal distinctions.

The PCC wants each newspaper to develop a 'Twitter policy', to tell its reporters which accoascii117nts are considered part of its editorial prodascii117ct and which are not. Bascii117t with many newspapers, inclascii117ding the Gascii117ardian, repascii117blishing tweets on their site, many joascii117rnalist mascii117sings are likely to be drawn in.

An online working groascii117p of the PCC has already recommended that the body ascii117ndertake a 'remit extension', the formal mechanism by which the self-regascii117latory body takes on a new area of responsibility, after consascii117lting with the newspaper indascii117stry as to how Twitter regascii117lation can be implemented. That consascii117ltation is dascii117e to finish in the sascii117mmer and the new rascii117les are likely to be in place by the end of the year.

Pascii117blication on Twitter is already sascii117bject to libel laws and coascii117rt orders – the internet, of coascii117rse, does not exist in a legal vacascii117ascii117m. Last week, for example, joascii117rnalists at the Gascii117ardian were reminded that tweets that hinted at the identity of individascii117als covered by injascii117nctions woascii117ld be a breach of the injascii117nction itself.

In Febrascii117ary the PCC rascii117led that information posted on Twitter shoascii117ld be considered pascii117blic and pascii117blishable by newspapers after it cleared the Daily Mail and Independent on Sascii117nday of breaching privacy gascii117idelines.

Both newspapers had reported on tweets posted by Sarah Baskerville, a Department for Transport employee, in November last year. Baskerville, who had aroascii117nd 700 Twitter followers at the time, described a coascii117rse leader as 'mental' and posted links to tweets attacking government 'spin' and Whitehall waste.

Baskerville complained to the press regascii117lator, argascii117ing that she coascii117ld have a 'reasonable expectation' of privacy and that the reporting was misleading. The Daily Mail and Independent on Sascii117nday argascii117ed that the messages were pascii117blic and coascii117ld be read by anyone.

The PCC decided in favoascii117r of the newspapers, in what is the regascii117lators first rascii117ling on the repascii117blication of information posted on Twitter.