A legal blogger has defended online self-regulation and the reliability of social media before Lord Justice Leveson.David Allen Green, a lawyer, legal correspondent for the New Statesman, and author of the Jack of Kent blog, said there is a “great deal of self-regulation and responsibly” amongst bloggers and social media users.He admitted blogging can be misused in the same way as mainstream media and the law but said there was an emphasis on online transparency and accountability.He said: “The notion that bloggers out there are cowboys…is looking at it in a very wrong way."Most alleged abuses by people using social media often can be traced back to someone who may or may not have an agenda.”Green told the inquiry that important stories not covered in the mainstream media were often taken forward by citizens using social media.He said “first rate” information is vital for responsible blogging and urged public bodies to work with social media rather than against it. He advocated people having time to step back and compile material for themselves from online sources.He added: “The better blogs and the better tweeters link to information."Green said Twitter users had shown restraint by not linking to a legally ambiguous article by Rod Liddle on the Stephen Lawrence case.He said although the CTB injunction had been widely mocked and broken by social media users, further sensitive information on the case had not been passed around.He also described gathering information on "David Rose" after several Wikipedia pages were edited by an account in this name. Rose was later discovered to be an online alias of journalist Johann Hari.He told the inquiry he had suggested Hari be sent for training:He said: “I don’t want to use my blogging for people to lose their jobs. It doesn’t seem appropriate."