Editorial: Respect silence orders

It's about time! For too long now social networking sites and bloggers have gotten away with breaking suppression orders. Now it appears the authorities have decided to do something about it.

A man has been charged with breaching a suppression order after allegedly posting footage on YouTube of two men accused of assaulting cricketer Jesse Ryder.

The 28-year-old Christchurch man allegedly posted the video footage breaching suppression orders issued by the court, which prohibited the publication of the names or faces of the men charged over the assault.

The accused was remanded on bail to appear in the Christchurch District Court today.

Mainstream media are held to a stringent code of practice when it comes to court reporting and although there are times when media want to publish names and faces we must abide by the law.

Suppression orders are there to protect the victim as well as the innocent or those who are related to the accused who have not had the opportunity to be properly informed. Sure, some will try to use the law to selfishly protect themselves but mostly the system works and as the media we have the right to appeal a suppression order in the appropriate way.

What has been happening over the last few years is the internet has a law of its own, with Joe Public breaking suppression orders with little or no consequence.

Christchurch police have said they hope the arrest will serve as a deterrent to other people.

Let's hope if the accused is found guilty, the fine isn't a slap with a wet bus ticket and doesn't become more of a joke than a deterrent.