Online news aggregatorNewsnow.co.ukhas been threatened with legal action by UK newspapers if it
does not introduce new controls on how it links to their
articles.
Newsnow automatically posts news
links from
websites across the world on its site and arranges them by
subject matter.
Managing director Struan Bartlett has since written an open
letter to newspaper heads.
The letter names The Times, The Sun, The Guardian, Daily Mail,
Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Daily
Express as newspapers involved.
Bartlett said in his letter: "Linking is free, and links (and
the sites that provide them) are at the heart of the web. They are
the means by which the web works. We don't think linking is
something you can, or should be allowed to, control or charge
for.
"Nor should you want to control linking. Links market your
content to readers. Abolish them, and readers won't all type in
your homepage address. They will go elsewhere. We don't believe we
are alone in this view. Many website traffic managers, journalists
and editors within your own organisations clearly share this view.
We know, because they've told us directly that they strongly value
our linking to your websites."
He called on the newspapers to stop the legal threats, recognise
the place and value of legitimate news aggregation websites in
today's news ecosystem, commit to upholding the freedom to link,
and support those of your readers who wish to find links to your
websites on Newsnow.
Read the
full letter here.