Censorship In Singapore

Internet censorship in Singapore is hard to maintain as the internet is still a relatively new medias compared to televisions or radios. With 66.3% of the population ( an estimate in 2006 ) being internet users, it is hard to censor things from those of an unsuitable age for it.

Who does the censorship in SG? Who enforces censorship in SG?
The Media Development Authority (MDA) enforces censorship in Singapore. The National Internet Advisory Committee (NIAC) was formed in 1996 to help advise the MDA on its Internet policies and regulations governing the Internet, new media and related services.
India: India has created to sections within the government to regulate the internet, the Computer Emergency Response Team and Cyber Crime Investigation Cell.
Computer Emergency Response Team, or CERT-IN are a means to regulate internet traffic thats flowing in and out of India.
Cyber Crime Investigation Cell which part of Mumbai Police, India carries out punishments involving cyber crime and to enforce provisions of India’s Infomation Technology Law.

What governs censorship in SG? (What is censored, or not, and why)
MDA censors websites and blogs containing material that may be a threat to public security, national defense, racial and religious harmony and public morality.
The MDA’s Internet Code of Practice which defines content that is deemed unsuitable for the public, which Internet Service Providers (ISP) must adhere to blocking, as that which:

-nudity is displayed in a titillating fashion;

-promotes sexual violence and explicit sexual activity is being shown;

-encourages homosexuality,lesbianism and pedophilia ( depicting sexual activity with a persons that appears to be 16 years of age or below), depicting incest, bestiality, pedophilia, or necrophilia;

-depicts extreme violence or cruelty;

-”glorifies, incites or endorses ethnic, racism or religious hatred, strife or intolerance

An Extract from the Media Development Authority’s Internet Code of Practice
“4- (1) Prohibited material is material that is objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public morality, public order, public security, national harmony, or is otherwise prohibited by applicable Singapore laws.
(2) In considering what is prohibited material, the following factors should be taken into account:
(a) whether the material depicts nudity or genitalia in a manner calculated to titillate;
(b) whether the material promotes sexual violence or sexual activity involving coercion or non-consent of any kind;
(c) whether the material depicts a person or persons clearly engaged in explicit sexual activity;
(d) whether the material depicts a person who is, or appears to be, under 16 years of age in sexual activity, in a sexually provocative manner or in any other offensive manner;
(e) whether the material advocates homosexuality or lesbianism, or depicts or promotes incest, paedophilia, bestiality and necrophilia;’“

India:
CERT-IN handles Internet security and many institutions and agencies are allowed to call on it, including the home affairs ministry, courts, the intelligence services, the police and the head of the National Human Rights Commission.

How is censorship exercised in SG (compare different mediums, laws, hardware, software)
In 2001, the NIAC developed an Industry Content Code to help build up a culture of responsibility among Internet industry members and encourage industry co-regulation. The Industry Content Code, which was drawn up by the NIAC Industry Sub-Committee in consultation with industry members, lists down industry best practices that will complement existing regulations and
guidelines governing Internet content in Singapore.

MDA developed the Voluntary Content Code for Self-Regulation of Mobile Content(Mobile Content Code). The Mobile Content Code is a joint collaborative effort of the NIAC and the three local telecommunication companies – MobileOne, SingTel Mobile and StarHub Mobile, and it seeks to protect the young from undesirable content that can be accessed through mobile devices. The Mobile Content Code was launched in March 2006

NIAC notes that the three main ISPs are already offering Family Access Network (FAN) packages
– an optional network-based filtering service to which parents can subscribe to
manage their children’s access to undesirable content on the Internet.

What kind of penalties are exercised?
MDA can issue penalties for violations, including fines or a license suspension or termination for non-compliance
The Internet Code of Practice does not provide for any restrictions or penalties imposed on users; however, violation of other laws, such as those banning possession of pornography, may subject an Internet user to criminal penalties. In addition, the government has been accused of manufacturing charges against political dissidents and of monitoring the Internet use of suspected dissidents; the Computer Misuse Act and similar legislation have greatly increased the government’s authority to monitor and decrypt Internet content. Even if few such charges are filed, the threat thereof may serve to deter political opposition in Singapore.
Examples of Censorship Penalties:
1 website has been banned from Singapore for posting unsuitable material that show nudity and homosexuality. The site has been banned as MDA supposedly could not find its owners or operators, so they could impose penalties on the perpetrators.
Newspaper article taken from the Strait Times, Singapore

Oct28,2005
Straits Times
MDA bans gay website and fines another one
by Chua Hian Hou
The authorities here have taken action against two websites popular with gay men here following complaints that the sites contained offensive content.
One of the websites, which promoted promiscuous homosexual behaviour and recruited underage boys for sex and nude photography, was put on the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) list of 100 banned websites in July, after it received ’several’ complaints about it in March.
The MDA ban means that Singapore surfers will no longer be able to access the site – which is hosted overseas – from their home computers.
The other website, titled ‘Meet Gay Singapore Friends’, was warned by the MDA to remove ‘offensive’ content found on it and fined $5,000 last month for its transgressions. It has heeded the warning.
The MDA declined to say whether it had taken action against other websites, homosexual or otherwise, in the past. It also did not disclose the list of 100 banned websites, but noted that 98 of them contained pornographic materials, and two were religious extremist websites.
MDA spokesman Kwan Sui Fen said it took action after ’several complaints this year’ about the two sites.
Investigations showed that they had breached its Internet Code of Practice, which governs the content of websites here.
The two sites violated ‘Part 4′ of the Code, which includes depictions of ‘nudity or genitalia in a manner calculated to titillate’, and material advocating homosexuality or paedophilia.
One of the complainants, Mr Ricky Lee, a 33-year-old freelance software programmer, told The Straits Times that the local site that was fined used to have nude pictures and videos of gay men having sex, but these have been removed.
Besides pornographic pictures and videos, the banned overseas site also provided listings of public swimming pools without shower doors and pickup places for casual sex, information about mass orgies here, and even explicit personal advertisements recruiting underage boys for sex or nude photography.
Said Mr Lee ‘People have the right to their choice of lifestyle – and I don’t have a problem with that. But the way the sites glamorise a promiscuous gay lifestyle and try to entice young boys to join this lifestyle…is very wrong.’
His worries grew when the sites’ tactics appeared to work – the number of people registering for the sites has been growing.
For example, the banned site’s registered members grew from 60,000 last year – when Mr Lee first stumbled upon it – to more than 330,000 this year. Mr Lee believes most of the members are local, as the content focuses on Singapore.
Although happy that the MDA has banned the more extreme, overseas-hosted website, Mr Lee believes more can be done – he wants the authorities to make the site’s operator take the website down.
This could be tough, said lawyer Bryan Tan of Keystone Law Corporation.
‘The MDA’s jurisdiction is limited to sites hosted from Singapore, or operated by a Singaporean – and this might be hard to prove in this case, or the site could genuinely be run by a foreigner.’
The MDA has referred the case to the police.

Links:
http://opennet.net/studies/singapore” \l “toc2d”http://opennet.net/studies/singapore#toc2d
http://www.mda.gov.sg/wms.www/mediani.aspx?sid=195″http://www.mda.gov.sg/wms.www/mediani.aspx?sid=195
http://yawningbread.org/arch_2005/yax-504.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_India