SINGAPORE REGULATING THE INTERNET: NEW "INDUSTRY GUIDELINES"
John Walker
jwalker at networx.on.ca
Sun Jan 25 01:52:10 EST 1998
-----------
OECD Observer [.pdf] and OECD Policy Brief
http://www.networx.on.ca/~jwalker
Select Internet Resources, Financial and Economic Resources
These two publications are provided by the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development. The first, published bimonthly and
available in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format only, covers various
international economic and social issues. Recent issues have
highlighted electronic commerce, globalization, and regulation. Each
issue features an article that discusses the economy of an individual
country. The Observer is available in English and French. The
second publication, a recent addition to OECD's publications,
contains information that highlights different aspects of the
Organization's work. Issue 1 discusses electronic commerce, and Issue
2 the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Explanations of the
issue and OECD's involvement with it are provided in the form of
brief answers to a series of questions.
______________________________________________________________________
---SINGAPORE---
[BOTTOM LINE] REGULATING THE INTERNET: NEW "INDUSTRY GUIDELINES" AND
REVISION OF CODE OF PRACTICE.
[WHAT HAPPENED] The Singapore Internet Code of Practice (SICP) (enacted in
15 July 1996) was the first attempt here to regulate the Internet. The SICP
is a piece of legislation produced by the Singapore Broadcasting Authority
(SBA). The SBA is empowered by Singapore Broadcasting Authority Act (Cap
297) to ensure that nothing is included in any broadcasting service (which
includes the Internet medium) which is against public interest or order,
national harmony or which offends against good taste or decency. The
National Internet Advisory Committee (NIAC) after some deliberation and
consultation with industry, advised SBA that the SICP needed to be
clarified and simplified. The SBA on the recommendations of the NIAC,
revised the Code on 22 October 1997 that came into effect on 1 November
1997. The revised Code now spells out the precise responsibilities of
Internet content and service providers and defined more specifically the
phrase 'prohibited material.' Together with the revised Code, the "Industry
Guidelines on the SBA's Internet Policy" was also published. The Guidelines
elaborate on the Class Licensing framework, the Code and the approach to
enforcement.
[WHY IT HAPPENED] When the SICP was first enacted, there were concerns
expressed by the industry regarding the potential hindrance it would have
on the use of the Internet in Singapore and the compliance difficulties it
caused to both content and service providers. The NIAC report recommended
that the SICP needed to be clarified and more specific on what was required
of content and service providers.
[THE SIGNIFICANCE] The authorities have to their credit, responded
pragmatically and quickly to the industry's response despite their real
concern for censorship. For Internet Service Providers, instead of having
to figure out what "best efforts" meant in the original Code in the context
of censorship (considered onerous by many), the revised Code now provides
that Internet Service Providers are only required to deny access to
websites identified by SBA. In essence, they do not have to actively search
for sites with prohibited material. The guidelines also significantly
indicate the SBA's view that they are not concerned with what users access
in the privacy of their homes or what companies provide to their employees
and that they are in fact taking a light touch approach to Internet
regulation. Their major concern is for the protection of children from
pornographic sites.
[INFORMATION SOURCES] See the Singapore Broadcasting Authority homepage at
http://www.sba.gov.sg/netreg/code.htm for the latest version of the
Internet Code of Practice and http://www.sba.gov.sg/netreg/idnote.htm for
the Industry Guidelines.
Courtesy INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER LAW OBSERVER
---------------------------
Also in this issue:
- Consumers get a Net-ful of browser good news
A court action involving Microsoft and a decision by Netscape to put
its browser on the Net add up to good surfing news.
- A Network of Our Own
The Internet is like a gigantic square dance, except everyone in
attendance has multiple partners.
- Japan's Net Population Explosion
Japan's Internet population is soaring, a survey reported today in
the Nihon Keizai Shimbun says. The number of people using the Net in
Japan at the end of 1997 was 8.84 million, the Access Media
International report said, an increase of 54.6 percent from February.
- The Web of Tomorrow
I have seen the future . . . And it's a lot more expensive.
- Intern's homepage gives insight into her personality
'Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave" was the quote on an America Online
member profile purporting to be Monica S. Lewinsky's.
- Fighting For Free Speech On The Internet
Barry Steinhardt's e-mail address will continue to end .org, but
almost everything else will soon be changing for one of the
Internet's most ardent civil liberties activists.
- New Lists and Journals
* islam - ISLAM MAIL
* The Weekly Special - Tasty book reviews from "Feed Your Head"
* Surfwave - Best Sites to Surf
* UCIP-NET - Cuidados intensivos y urgencias pediatricas is the first
mailing list in Spanish, devoted to the pathology of childs
requiring assistence either in Pediatric Intensive Care Units or
in Pediatric Emergency Departments.
- *** Sunday Supplement ***
- SURVEYS THIS WEEK:
INTERNATIONAL
: France to Spend USD8.2 million on SMEs
E-COMMERCE/ADVERTISING
: 11 percent of US adults trade stocks online
: USD7 billion generated by the top 52 online traders
: The End of Loyalty?
GENERAL TRENDS
: How Much Do Newspapers Loose Online?
: Future of the Internet: Entertainment or Commercial?
: The Family PC Poll Shows Parents Internet Concerns
: Censorship and Privacy Top Concerns
: Television viewing is down significantly
TECHNICAL
: IT Investment Plans Remain Top Priority
: Email Speeds Up. . .
MISCELLANEOUS
: CIOs are disillusioned with the Internet
: Lack of company policy on Email
- Legal
* AUSTRALIA-----CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION PROTECTION FOR COMPUTER
SOFTWARE
* AUSTRIA-------USERS OF ILLEGALLY COPIED SOFTWARE PAY INCREASING
AMOUNTS IN SETTLEMENTS TO AVOID CRIMINAL CONVICTION
* CANADA--------COPYRIGHT PROTECTION DOES NOT EXTEND TO LISTINGS OF
BUSINESSES OR HEADINGS USED IN YELLOW PAGE
DIRECTORIES
* GERMANY-------DOMAIN-NAME PROTECTION IN GERMANY
* ITALY---------ITALIAN DIGITAL DOCUMENT REGULATIONS
* NETHERLANDS---COMPUTER DATA ARE NOT GOODS
* SINGAPORE-----REGULATING THE INTERNET: NEW "INDUSTRY GUIDELINES"
AND REVISION OF CODE OF PRACTICE
* SPAIN---------DATA PROTECTION AGENCY STOPS TELEFONICA'S SELLING
OF ITS CUSTOMERS' INFORMATION/SPAIN'S MAIN TELECOMS
OPERATOR DID NOT SPECIFY WHICH DATA IT WANTED TO
SELL
* SWITZERLAND---SWISS FEDERAL COUNCIL ALLOWS SWISSCOM TO KEEP A 32%
HOLDING IN THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST CATV COMPANY
CABLECOM
* UNITED KINGDOM--ILLEGAL TRADING IN DOMAIN NAMES
* UNITED STATES--
- DOES THE 1ST AMENDMENT PROTECT "THE MOST DANGEROUS
PRESS IN AMERICA"?
- MICROSOFT SUFFERS LEGAL SETBACK FROM DISTRICT
JUDGE THOMAS P. JACKSON
- 9TH CIRCUIT EXPANDS COPYRIGHT MISUSE DEFENSE IN
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION CORP. V. AMERICAN
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, 121 F.3D 516 (9TH CIR. 1997).
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