(This is written from my own point of view, not as Moderator--Andy.) Political, religious, and sex-related topics on Singapore's Internet providers will all be subject to approval by Singapore's government under new rules enacted on Tuesday. Singapore's Internet Service Providers must register with the government, and so must anyone putting up a site with political or religious content. Singapore can then apply its strict laws against various types of material (embodied in the Singapore Broadcasting Authority) to the Internet. Unlike our own gentle legislators, there is no indication that Singapore will try to prosecute people outside its boundaries. It will simply regulate its own citizens online. Some commentators think this ruling may be followed by filters that screen out sites lying outside Singapore. Luckily, the opposition party has come out against the measure. The government also promises that the rules apply only to what is publicly available, not to communications between individuals. Comment: none of this should come as any surprise--we see the trends in China, in Germany, and ultimately in our own Communications Decency Act, which gives other countries the message that regulation is all right. The nations have all drunk our wine, therefore they are mad. Andy ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~ Posted by Andrew Oram - •••@••.••• - Moderator: CYBER-RIGHTS (CPSR) Cyber-Rights: http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/ ftp://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/Library/ CyberJournal: (WWW or FTP) --> ftp://ftp.iol.ie/users/rkmoore Materials may be reposted in their _entirety_ for non-commercial use. ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~-~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~
