S’pore licenses news sites

[winnipegjets]

Sinkapore will be the laughing stock ...could you see how CNN, Aljeezra, SCMP will respond when MDA asked them to obtain a license? Sinkapore thinks that it has the means to control news.

S’pore licenses news sites
Insight: DOWN SOUTH By SEAH CHIANG NEE

In a historic move, 10 top websites have to register if they want to continue to report on the republic’s news and current affairs.

IT is happening! In a historic move, the Singapore government is moving into the Internet to regulate news reporting by requiring – for a start – the 10 biggest news-sites to be licensed.

From today, these websites must renew their registration every year if they want to continue to report on Singapore news and current affairs.

Some observers believe that the principal target is the rising number of Singaporeans who post comments attached to, rather than, the news reports themselves.

These public reactions and discussions are overwhelmingly anti-government.

Many Internet users have accused the government of trying to dampen free discussions.

A performance bond of S$50,000 (RM122,206), similar to that required for TV broadcasters, is required.

Offenders will be ordered to remove portions assessed to be “in breach of content standards” such as undermining racial or religious harmony, within 24 hours.

There was no mention of political boundaries, but given the tradition here, dissent is likely to be a top target.

A survey by The Straits Times had found 36.3% of people between the ages of 21 and 34 cited the Internet as their top source of domestic political news, compared with 35.3% who preferred newspapers.

Failure to do so could be severe.

The owner may be fined a whooping S$200,000 (RM488,824) or imprisoned up to three years or both.

Legislation will probably dilute the intensity of online discussions since all are commercial enterprises.

If it works, it may create history, not only here but possibly elsewhere too.

The Singapore experiment will undoubtedly be watched with interest by

Governments outside Singapore, particularly China, to see if they can also adopt a similar method of controlling web dissent.

A bigger issue will be if – and when – the measure to regulate is extended to cover blogs that are operated by small groups or individuals. A few are highly popular with Singaporean Internet users.

Presently, they are excluded said a spokesman nut he added: “If they take on the nature of news sites, we will take a closer look and evaluate them accordingly”.

Some bloggers are already discussing possible options to take in case the authorities move against them. One was quoted by a news agency as saying: “You can try to shut us up. We will find a way around it.”

The chosen 10 are obviously easier targets, vulnerable because they are large commercial enterprises.

But blogs, which exist like little cells, are another matter. Many are anonymously edited; some may operate from outside Singapore.

Some bloggers say if the crunch comes, they rely more on FaceBook and Twitter.

People who have their own pages – including Prime Minister Lee and several cabinet ministers – are already writing and posting without control.

Another possible means could be mass e-mails, in which a writer can send articles to a designated list of thousands of people simultaneous with a press of a button.

Of the chosen 10 websites, nine belong to the two giant media companies, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Mediacorp.

Since both are staunchly pro-government, they are unlikely to be the principal targets since any reporting excesses can easily be rectified by a phone call without resorting to laws.

The tenth, Yahoo Inc Singapore, however, is a different kettle. In the past few years, this US-based web browser has gained rising popularity among Singaporeans for its objective news coverage.

It has reserved comment pending receipt of details of the new regulations.

The sweep may be extended to include foreign websites that regularly report on the city, like The Financial Times, CNN and BBC.

This means that they, too, like Yahoo Inc will have to obtain a license or stop reporting on Singapore.

According to AFP, Yahoo has a team of reporters whose coverage of Singapore’s major news has become “a magnet for anti-government comments posted by readers in reaction to local news.

Actually, this is a similar problem for many operators, including the pro-government media. Quite often, it is not their reporting, which is pro-government, but the critical comments it attracts from angry readers.

It is understood that the new measures will attribute any “excessive” or “extremist” reader comments to the web operators.

Early this year, PM Lee had given a strong hint that such legislation was forthcoming when he warned that sensitive, extremist views were being raised over the web.

“We don’t believe the community in the social space, especially online, moderates itself. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world.”

“It’s in the nature of the medium, the way the interactions work and that’s the reason why we think it cannot be completely left by itself,” he added.

Apparently, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has a slightly different view.

Some bloggers were quite thoughtful, said Tharman, who is also Finance Minister, though more balance is needed.

“Well, it cannot be ignored and I think so far, on balance, the fact that you’ve got an active social media is a plus. It’ll go through phases,” his deputy PM told The Straits Times.

Politically for the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), moving to stamp out web dissent is a tempting proposition with the general election due in 2016.

The party has been losing popularity among its core supporters who had kept it in power for nearly half a century.

But for PM Lee Hsien Loong, there are political risks. He had obviously acted out of conviction that it is necessary.

A journalism student remarked: “Now people are saying half-jokingly that father started to control the print media, now son wants to do the same the with Internet news media.”

 

[winnipegjets]

Could moderator merged this thread with the BBC thread? Thx.

 

[Leongsam]

This Seah character is an idiot.

 

[tonychat]

We don’t believe the community in the social space, especially online, moderates itself. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world.”

There is no need to moderate political news in the internet..

See the way it reports to make it seems like it is a natural thing to moderate it... dun be brainwashed by such way of reporting.

 

[zeebjii]

This Seah character is an idiot.

Useless Sinkie loser can't argue, resort to name calling.

 

[Leongsam]

Useless Sinkie loser can't argue, resort to name calling.

He's an idiot because he has not done proper research before writing his article.

 

[The Penetrator]

He's an idiot because he has not done proper research before writing his article.

So what is consider proper research ?

 

[batman1]

This Seah character is an idiot.

Hi boss,u have disappointed us netizens by resorting to unsubstantiated name calling
instead of engaging in responsible argument or debate.

 

[Leongsam]

Hi boss,u have disappointed us netizens by resorting to unsubstantiated name calling
instead of engaging in responsible argument or debate.

So shoot me.

 

[winnipegjets]

This Seah character is an idiot.

Care to elaborate on his lack of research. We always look forward to your learned perspective ...a breath of fresh air.

 

[Leongsam]

Care to elaborate on his lack of research. We always look forward to your learned perspective ...a breath of fresh air.

He fails to understand that the internet is not a physical presence in Singapore. It's merely a network that can be accessed in Singapore.

You can't force someone who isn't under your jurisdiction to pay or bond or jail that person if he refuses to do so.

Could Dictator Kim jail you for insulting his regime? He could block your site but to believe that he's going to send agents to arrest you and haul you back to North Korea to stand trial is a bit rich.

 

[winnipegjets]

He fails to understand that the internet is not a physical presence in Singapore. It's merely a network that can be accessed in Singapore.

You can't force someone who isn't under your jurisdiction to pay or bond or jail that person if he refuses to do so.

Could Dictator Kim jail you for insulting his regime? He could block your site but to believe that he's going to send agents to arrest you and haul you back to North Korea to stand trial is a bit rich.

But Minister Yakult thinks otherwise. Who knows what the PAP has developed to implement this new policy.

 

[Leongsam]

But Minister Yakult thinks otherwise. Who knows what the PAP has developed to implement this new policy.

He can block, he can filter, he can take action against sinkies who visit the site in question but it cannot fine and jail the journalist or editor of the offending website who is not physically present in Singapore.

The person most guilty of a constant tirade against the Singapore authorities and Judicial system is the character who runs this site :

http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

However, nothing could be done till the idiot actually travelled to Singapore and invited the authorities to arrest him. They duly obliged. While he was in the US, he was out of reach. Now that he has served his sentence, he's back in the US and has resumed his lambasting of the Lee regime from the safety of his US outpost.

 

[Bigfuck]

He can block, he can filter, he can take action against sinkies who visit the site in question but it cannot fine and jail the journalist or editor of the offending website who is not physically present in Singapore.

The person most guilty of a constant tirade against the Singapore authorities and Judicial system is the character who runs this site :

http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

However, nothing could be done till the idiot actually travelled to Singapore and invited the authorities to arrest him. The duly obliged. While he was in the US, he was out of reach. Now that he has served his sentence, he's back in the US and has resumed his lambasting of the Lee regime from the safety of his US outpost.

What Leongsam is trying to say is all forummers here in Singapore will be arrested by he will be scot-free. In Leegime tongue, Sammyboy will continue to be around as will Leongsam, no matter the law. What happens to forummers here is not his concern.

 

[Leongsam]

What Leongsam is trying to say is all forummers here in Singapore will be arrested by he will be scot-free. In Leegime tongue, Sammyboy will continue to be around as will Leongsam, no matter the law. What happens to forummers here is not his concern.

I do not for one minute believe that members of this forum are of any interest whatsoever to the authorities with the exception of one character who stands out like a sore thumb.

 

[batman1]

The licensing measures have been implemented overnight to curtail dissent but
instead have triggered into a snowball of protest n anger against the MDA n Yacoob n
MIW.

 

[Bigfuck]

I do not for one minute believe that members of this forum are of any interest whatsoever to the authorities with the exception of one character who stands out like a sore thumb.

Goh Meng Seng? Shoot him!

 

[The_Hypocrite]

It has always been the pappies intention to control the media n wat is reported in singkieland. The pap had it soo easy since the 60s. With the rise of the internet n social media, the pap was caught out n for the past 2 erections. Social media played a bigger part in its falling vote share. With the arab spring etc pap feels even more insecure. In addition the pappies r under greater scrutiny n they cant handle it. Just look at yakults performance. They want the old ways back where they can control the flow of information n the good times to roll.

 

[escher]

He fails to understand that the internet is not a physical presence in Singapore. It's merely a network that can be accessed in Singapore.

You can't force someone who isn't under your jurisdiction to pay or bond or jail that person if he refuses to do so.

Could Dictator Kim jail you for insulting his regime? He could block your site but to believe that he's going to send agents to arrest you and haul you back to North Korea to stand trial is a bit rich.

Go get yourself a VPN. It is so bloody cheap.
You can pop into anywhere via a proxy that is encrypted and which can be in any country.
And if you do not know what the hell is VPN, go read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network and find out