Singapore’s Websites Call for Saturday Protest

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Jun 8, 2013

Communications Minister Yaacob communicates

Blogs “go dark,” protest launched against Internet restrictions

Asia Sentinel

More than 160 Singaporean websites are calling for concerned citizens to assemble Saturday in Hong Lim Park, the site of the city’s Speaker’s Corner, to protest stringent new licensing requirements imposed by the Media Development Authority (MDA) on bloggers and other websites last week.

More than 160 bloggers closed down their sites Thursday for 24 hours to protest implementation of the new laws.

The bloggers have launched a campaign using the Twitter hashtag #FreeMyInternet to spread the word about the campaign. Online commentators have expressed concern over the breadth of the definition of “online news sites,” warning that it could sweep in blogs that discuss a wide range of issues, and websites that enable users to discuss online content.

The new regulations, promulgated at the behest of Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, have been condemned internationally by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders. Today the New York-based Human Rights Watch joined in condemning the regulations, saying that “The Singaporean government should withdraw an onerous new licensing requirement for online news sites. The new rules will further discourage independent commentary and reporting on the Internet.”

The Singapore government usually doesn’t back away from its implementation of regulations, no matter how stiff the protest.

“Singapore’s new licensing requirement casts a chill over the city-state’s robust and free-wheeling online communities, and will clearly limit Singaporeans’ access to independent media,” said Cynthia Wong, senior Internet researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Websites will be forced into the role of private censors on behalf of the government.”