SINGAPORE: Political podcasts, videocasts not allowed during election

Government lays down rules for campaigning, tells bloggers they can discuss politics but will have to register sites that consistently publish a political line

Straits Times
Tuesday, April 4, 2006

New Internet technologies, such as podcasting and videocasting, cannot be used to disseminate political content during the General Election, the Government said yesterday.

In the most extensive answer to date on online electioneering, Dr Balaji Sadasivan noted that streaming of 'explicit political content' by political parties or individuals is banned under election advertising rules set in 2001.

He also had news for bloggers: They can discuss politics, but will have to register their sites if they consistently espouse a political line.

His clarifications will curtail the scope of those who hoped to use the Net to influence the coming polls.

In the last election, in November 2001, online electioneering was limited mainly to political parties posting information about their rallies, and their candidates' biodata, on their websites.

But the proliferation of blogs and online petitions has led many to ask if the Internet will be a bigger factor in this year's campaign.

Increasingly popular too is podcasting, an Internet audio feed, which has been employed at least once by the opposition Singapore Democratic Party.

Dr Balaji noted yesterday that podcasting is not among the 'positive list' of the regulations promulgated in 2001.

That list spells out explicitly what political parties, candidates and election agents can do to promote themselves during the election campaign. It includes references to chatrooms, discussion forums and websites, but not the newer technologies that have appeared since.

The Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts was answering a query from Workers' Party MP Low Thia Khiang, on whether laws governing the use of the Internet would be changed for this election campaign.

Dr Balaji said there were no plans to do so, as the current regulatory regime, which includes the Parliamentary Elections Act, the Class Licence Scheme and Internet Code of Practice administered by the Media Development Authority (MDA), has 'served well to safeguard the seriousness of the electoral process'.

Among the rules: Websites of political parties have to be registered with the MDA. So too websites that take an avowedly political stance, such as the Think Centre.

Likewise, bloggers who 'persistently propagate, promote or circulate political issues relating to Singapore' are also required to register with the MDA, he said. 'During the election period, these registered persons will not be permitted to provide material online that constitutes election advertising.'

Both Mr Low and Non-Constituency MP Steve Chia got up on their feet to seek clarifications.

Threading Dr Balaji's answers was this message: If an individual uses his website in the way a political party does, to espouse political views, he will have to have the website registered.

When Mr Low asked when or at what stage an individual would be treated like a political party, Dr Balaji replied that this would depend on the 'facts of the case'.

And would text messages with political information be allowed, Mr Low asked.

The reply: The Government has no wish to intrude into people's privacy.

'However, individuals seeking to use mass e-mail and mass SMS as tools to influence people, or to affect the outcome of an election, should realise that they are still governed by the laws of the land. And these include libel,' said Dr Balaji.

'They should not assume that the fact that they are e-mailing or SMS-ing information gives them licence to say anything they want.'

Mr Chia, of the National Solidarity Party, asked if an individual would be allowed to distribute party information he had obtained online.

Dr Balaji replied: 'During the election period, anyone who distributes election material must be registered.'

Date Posted: 4/4/2006