cr> Singapore Internet restrictions

1996-03-08

(This is written from my own point of view, not as Moderator--Andy.)

Political, religious, and sex-related topics on Singapore's Internet
providers will all be subject to approval by Singapore's government
under new rules enacted on Tuesday.  Singapore's Internet Service
Providers must register with the government, and so must anyone
putting up a site with political or religious content.  Singapore can
then apply its strict laws against various types of material (embodied
in the Singapore Broadcasting Authority) to the Internet.

Unlike our own gentle legislators, there is no indication that
Singapore will try to prosecute people outside its boundaries.  It
will simply regulate its own citizens online.  Some commentators think
this ruling may be followed by filters that screen out sites lying
outside Singapore.

Luckily, the opposition party has come out against the measure.  The
government also promises that the rules apply only to what is publicly
available, not to communications between individuals.

Comment: none of this should come as any surprise--we see the trends
in China, in Germany, and ultimately in our own Communications Decency
Act, which gives other countries the message that regulation is all
right.  The nations have all drunk our wine, therefore they are mad.

Andy

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