[Due to the extraordinary interest
generated by this issue, a more detailed discussion was found necessary. Hence a
series of articles are being presented links for which are given below as BB1,
BB2,BB3 etc....Naavi]
BB1:BB-2
: BB3:BB4:
BB 5:BB6:BB7:BB8:BB9:BB10
In our previous articles " we had discussed some of the
legal issues regarding Blogging. In conclusion, let us discuss what
Bloggers can do to meat the Cyber Law Risks associated with the maintenance of
Blogs and participating in the Blog Discussions.
Issue (10) Is there a need for "Self
Governance" amongst Bloggers
and if so how?
Having discussed various legal issues that may affect
Bloggers, it is time now to take stock of what needs to be done to mitigate the
risks. This is in keeping with the expectation of law that Blog owners need to
exercise "Due Diligence" to prevent occurrence of Cyber Crimes.
In case Bloggers do not act now and clean up their activities
we can expect two kinds of problems.
1. To secure themselves, Blog owners should also post Blog
Ethics and warn the visitors of the consequences of ignoring law.
This will also help them establish "Due Diligence". In the
coming days a link to this
set of articles could be one of the alerts that Blog owners would do well
to provide.
2. Blog owners should monitor the posts regularly and remove
offending comments as soon as they are noticed
3. If and when it is feasible it would be better to retain
the Blog as "Moderated by default" and provide select moderation powers to such
of those members whom the Blog owner knows personally to be responsible. (This
system works well in Forums though is not found at present in Blogs.)
4. If possible, posting of hyperlinks in comments should be
subject to moderation.
5. All copies of Photos and materials reproduced should be
acknowledged for the source.
6.The language used should be clean and in an attempt to make
it informal, should not border on obscenity or be disrespectful of others.
7. Third party ads should be allowed with circumspection and
only from known sources.
8. Pictures reproduced should be screened for "Steganograhic
Messages" to the extent feasible or chosen from trusted sources only.
9. Anonymous postings should be discouraged. If
possible, source IP address should be recorded along with the message.
10. Blog owner should ensure Cyber Law Compliance Audit of the Blog from time
to time from some respectful authority. (Cyber
Society of India, would take up such audits and certifications initially for
its members.)
If a good system of self governance is not introduced by the
Blog community, Blog Culture may not be able to show the kind of growth we are
now witnessing. It will also encourage regulators to bring in their own
regulations which the Blog owners will find difficult to digest (Remember the plight of Cyber Cafes
who are reeling under regulations which they would have done without if they had
adopted a good self regulation system) .
I therefore urge Blog Owners in India to come
together and form their own association of Blog Owners and exchange good
Blog maintenance practices amongst themselves.
Alternatively they may become members of other like
minded entities such as Cyber Society of India which are willing to take up the
cause of Netizens in the right fora.
Naavi
December 12,2004
This concludes this set of Articles on Legal issues in
Blogging
Comments are welcome
