Athletes allowed to blog from Beijing Olympics
updated 06:10 pm EST, Fri February 15, 2008
Athletes can blog in China
The International Olympics Committee today gave its official approval for athletes to blog while at the Beijing games in August, providing that they do not publish media of the event or Olympic properties. Reuters reports that the IOC recognizes blogging as a form of personal expression, and not that of a journalistic nature. An additional stipulation states that any postings must adhere to the Olympic spirit, being "dignified and in good taste."
The IOC is also concerned that China's record for human rights and censoring of online content will somehow create an issue for athletes.
Athletes that participated in the 2004 Athens and 2006 Turin Olympic games have run Blogs, but were not officially recognized by the IOC, and were the subject of some debate.
