Thursday, November 3, 2011

Who's Doing The Policing?

Gazetting a blog is not internet policing. *palm-face*
In the CNA Talking Point episode "Policing The Internet", MP (Tampines GRC) Baey Yam Keng claimed that the Ministry of Law sees the internet as another platform for real world criminals to operate from, and people need to be protected from fraud, cyber-bullying, etc. The timing of gazetting online blogs had nothing to do with policing the internet, he said with a poker face. While at it, he might as well add that the president's addendum had nothing to do with the online revelations about the circumstances of his son's 12 year deferment. The wording of the Ministry of Law statement on the subject goes like this:"The proliferation of new media has brought about new challenges to the rule of law and the ministry will review legislation to deal with harmful and unlawful online conduct". Smells like a good-cop-bad-cop routine is in play.

Here's how real world politicians feel strongly about the subject:
US Foreign Secretary William Hague: The fact that criminals and terrorists can exploit digital networks is not "justification for states to censor their citizens."
UK Prime Minister David Cameron: Governments "must not use cybersecurity as an excuse for censorship or to deny their people the opportunities that the Internet represents."

Cameron and Hague were speaking at a two-day International Cyber Conference in London. Their stance contrasts with calls by Russia and China for tighter regulation of the Internet through binding international treaties. No prizes for guessing which camp Baey or his comrades will be more comfortable with.

Confronted with Ravi's clarification that the much bally-hooed case of cyber-bullying did not involve Singaporeans, Baey had to concede that crime was not the only raison d'être for the internet policing, "Yes, political concerns could be one of it". Since the mainstream media shy from highlighting instances of duplicity, netizens will just have to be extra vigilant and do their patriotic bit for the country.

"What citizens do online should not, as some have suggested, be decreed solely by groups of governments making decisions for them somewhere on high," US Vice President Joe Biden said in his contribution delivered via videolink from Washington. Hear! Hear!
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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous11/03/2011 10:39 AM

    Murderer uses knife to kill other people. So, knife should be banned. Use your own teeth to cut your raw meat. The same logic?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alan Wong11/03/2011 11:03 AM

    I thought some pro-establishment cyber groups were equally involved in some cyber bullying as well if going by the amount of bullshit they posted in political forums.

    Remember the video of a anti-establishment doctor being caught in a compromising position with a prostitute being uploaded onto the net?

    Who else do you think is capable of planning such a covert operation to catch him with his pants down ? Are they not another example of real world criminals that we should have apprehended ?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11/03/2011 11:04 AM

    The Telcos are providing the weapons for the Cyber Terrorists. So, it is best to ban Telcos in Sin.

    Singaporeans are also found to 'misbehave' in Cyberland, they too should be jailed or exile.
    Sin does not need such citizens.

    Me got better logic, me thinks.

    patriot

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11/03/2011 1:34 PM

    PAP simply doing what comes naturally to a dictator in order to preserve continuation of power.

    The day that PAP loses majority in govt, will be the day that PAP will suddenly declare let's have more freedom on the Net and in the newspapers.

    In the early to mid 1950s, LKY frequently complained that Straits Times was biased against PAP, even though ST and all MSM at that time had no Big Brother watching and much looser regulations. LKY in fact, made use of ST and other newspapers to sell his message to the masses. He knew full well the power of the media. Hence, the day PAP became the govt, LKY strengthen the laws on MSM and also enacted new laws as well, in order to control the media. PAP also started the process to nationalise the media and to install their puppets as CEOs and MDs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11/03/2011 5:28 PM

    Governments "must not use cybersecurity as an excuse for censorship or to deny their people the opportunities that the Internet represents."

    This is what I call great statesmanship.

    I am new to the www. But in this short period of time, I have come across many intelligent speakers and writers who have commented at lenght on this subject.

    http://dotseng.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/why-elitism-is-bad-for-singapore/

    This seems to be making its round in Ekunaba and many other gaming forums.

    The question is why doesnt BYK take these views on board. I have a feeling if he doesnt dare to engage these elements in the internet. He prefers to regard them as the lunatic fringe. But we all know better.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous11/03/2011 5:31 PM

    "What citizens do online should not, as some have suggested, be decreed solely by groups of governments making decisions for them somewhere on high," US Vice President Joe Biden

    What a big coincidence. Both Cameron and Biden happen to spee club members from the skull and bones chapter when they were in University. I smell strong forces at work here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous11/28/2011 11:50 AM

    The Spee clubers. You mean skull and bones. You mean Mr 1066 and Room 101, dont you? These people are everywhere.

    ReplyDelete

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