MacKinnon believes Internet companies should be on the users' side. 'Because the users are their customers and, if they are abusing the trust of the users, then they would ultimately have very little business because nobody will trust them,' she noted. 'So if users cannot trust these companies, they will definitely choose not to use their services as soon as there are other alternatives.'

Protection

To protect journalists against abuse, SEAPA offers training on everything from basic to more advanced investigative journalism courses, and teaches the importance of ethical standards and self-regulation.