SINGAPORE REGULATING THE INTERNET: NEW "INDUSTRY GUIDELINES"
Roy Tennant
rtennant at library.berkeley.edu
Mon Jan 26 09:49:03 EST 1998
The posting below quotes a review from the Internet Scout Report, but
fails to attribute it to that source. This is unacceptable list behavior
and will result in any offending party being summarily removed from the
list on a section infraction. Jack Solock wrote the original review, and
it can be found at:
http://wwwscout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/current/indextxt.html#4
Thanks to Carole Leita for calling my attention to this fact.
Roy Tennant
Web4Lib Owner
On Sat, 24 Jan 1998, John Walker wrote:
>
>
>
> -----------
>
> 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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