Same laws must apply to bloggers, tweeters: UK judge

SYDNEY (AFP) - The man who led the inquiry into Britain's phone-hacking scandal has warned that bloggers and tweeters should be subject to the same laws as traditional media outlets to prevent a decline in standards of journalism.

Senior judge Brian Leveson said court judgments and civil rulings such as name suppressions must be enforced for Internet users just as they do for major newspapers, magazines and journals.

Otherwise there was a risk that the standard of journalism would drop as press companies try to compete with new forms of digital media, Lord Justice Leveson said in a speech at Melbourne University on Wednesday evening.

"If we are to ensure that appropriate standards are maintained, we must meet those challenges and ensure that the media not only remains subject to the law but it is not placed at a disadvantage where the enforcement of the law is concerned," he said.