The huge growth in popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace raises a number of ethical and practical challenges for the media about what can legitimately be published. This piece highlights some recent PCC decisions which have dealt with material taken from individuals' social networking sites, and flags up a seminar the PCC will be hosting on the subject next year.

Jan Moir's column in the Daily Mail about the death of Stephen Gately marked a significant shift in the status accorded to the micro-blogging service site, Twitter. Following the 25,000 complaints to the PCC from members of the public after publication, the Commission recently received a complaint from Mr Gately's civil partner, Andrew Cowles.

We spend a lot of time ensuring that members of the public - particularly vulnerable groups who are afforded special protection under the Code of Practice - know about the PCC's services, and how we can help them. But one side of our work you may not be so aware of is the regular contact we have with editors and journalists in advance of publication, who contact us for advice about the best way to handle difficult or sensitive stories.

The PCC's Director, Tim Toulmin, stepped down as Director on 18 December after 13 years with the organisation. In this exit interview, we ask him what his proudest achievement as Director has been, how he thinks the PCC has developed over the years, and what his plans are for the future.