SINGAPORE: Blogs and podcasts may get more leeway at next GE

Government likely to review policies on political activities on the Internet

Straits Times
Thursday, June 1, 2006

By Leslie Koh

The next general election could feature more political news and freer discussion on the Internet, as the Government plans to ease up its watch over political happenings in cyberspace.

It intends to review the way it manages new media, and adopt what it called a "lighter touch approach" at the next polls.

Although there are no details yet, the shift could well affect the current ban on the use of "live" video feeds and audio recordings by political parties during a GE, or the requirement for political websites to be registered.

But even as he announced the likely change in policy yesterday, Information, Communications and the Arts Minister Lee Boon Yang defended the Government's "cautious" approach this time round.

"There are many people who use their websites and blogs to put out malicious and false information in order to further their own agendas," he told about 250 public relations professionals attending a conference on new media at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

He also stressed that the Government will maintain its firm stance when it came to taking to task those who threatened Singapore's multiracial and multi-religious peace.

But he acknowledged that policies had to evolve, and the Government had to do more to engage Net-savvy users of new media.

In his opening speech at the conference organised by the Public Relations Academy, he said: "We will review our policies on the Internet and new media during the election period, bearing in mind the changes taking place.

"We will consider how to better embrace these changes so that by the next GE, we may be able to adopt a lighter touch approach during the election period."

The announcement was especially significant in light of the restrictions placed on the distribution of audio and video recordings during the recent polls. The Government had feared that such "podcasts" and "vodcasts" would have an undue influence on voters, but the ban raised a furore on the Net.

Blogs, which started out as online diaries, have gained currency round the world as an alternative to traditional media -- often tagged disdainfully in Netspeak as "mainstream media," or "MSM." Many bloggers see themselves as online equivalents of traditional journalists and commentators, posting photographs, reports and commentaries on their websites.

So it was with some satisfaction that some of them welcomed Dr Lee's words, seeing them as a sign that the Government was making efforts to engage rather than regulate new media.

Popular local blogger Lee Kin Mun, better known by his online monicker of "mr brown," called it "a step in the right direction."

"When you show you have a light touch, people are less likely to be fearful, or do the extreme stuff," the 36-year-old said.

Dr Lee also told reporters that the Government had not taken action against any Net users in the recently held elections, a move which bloggers noted with satisfaction.

In any case, public relations consultant Basskaran Nair pointed out, the Government had 'little choice' but to take its light-touch approach. He and Mr Lee noted that the sheer number of bloggers -- in the tens of millions -- and their anonymity made it near-impossible to control their actions, or track down those who broke the rules.

"You cannot ask for a rebuttal in the same way you ask the MSM," said Mr Nair. "The blogger can just walk off and close down his blog."

Date Posted: 6/1/2006