In a move that has implications for newsgathering via social media the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) ruled today that it was inappropriate for a journalist to contact the family of a dead individual via Facebook. It said that such a move breached Clause 5 of the Editors’ Code of Practice by intruding on the grief or shock of a bereaved individual.

The case arose after a Sunday Times journalist contacted a member of the family of a dead student to question a prior PPC complaint that a story contained inaccuracies.

Oliver Luft at the Press Gazette has the full story.