New muzzle on S'pore online media slammed
Published: May 30, 2013 4:29 AM | Updated: May 30, 2013 5:02 AM
Singapore's move this week to impose licensing fees on news websites has been slammed as a move to stifle independent media.
Singapore's move this week to impose licensing fees on news websites has been slammed as a move to stifle independent media.
"(The move) will further stifle the press in the city-state's already claustrophobic media atmosphere. These licensing fees shut another door to public discussion.
"The regulations allow the government to exert the same pressure on digital media that it already does over traditional print and broadcast media," said Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) Asia program coordinator Bob Dietz in a statement today.
According to a Tuesday report carried by Singapore's English daily Today, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said the criteria for licensing is that the sites garner 50,000 unique visitors in two months, and report an average of at least one Singapore-related news article a week also over two months.
The news websites all belong to major broadcasters or publishers in Singapore, which are licensed, with the exception of Yahoo! Singapore News, which does not yet have a media licence.
The new licence requires the sites to comply within 24 hours, to any directive from the MDA to remove content found to be in breach of standards.
The new licensing regime will provide clarity on these standards. For instance, prohibited material means any content that is "against public interest, public order, public security, national harmony, public morality".
These sites are also required to put up a "performance bond" of S$50,000 (RM121, 400).
In a press statement, the MDA said: "This will place them on a more consistent regulatory framework with traditional news platforms which are already individually licensed."
For refusing to comply with any of the conditions, MDA has the power to "impose financial penalties or suspend or revoke the incumbent's licence".
However the authority will investigate any breaches before deciding on the appropriate penalties.
The Broadcasting Act empowers MDA to prosecute the site owner in court for unlicensed services and the incumbent shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$200,000 (RM485,200) or to a jail term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
Going forward, the MDA will continue to assess whether more Singapore news websites will need to be put under this licensing framework, reported Today.
This is not the first the time Singapore government has moved to control the internet media.
In January 2011, it required a local news blog The Online Citizen to register itself as a political association.
The blog, started in December 2006, comments on issues regarding politics and public policies, among others.
"(The move) will further stifle the press in the city-state's already claustrophobic media atmosphere. These licensing fees shut another door to public discussion.
"The regulations allow the government to exert the same pressure on digital media that it already does over traditional print and broadcast media," said Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) Asia program coordinator Bob Dietz in a statement today.
According to a Tuesday report carried by Singapore's English daily Today, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said the criteria for licensing is that the sites garner 50,000 unique visitors in two months, and report an average of at least one Singapore-related news article a week also over two months.
The news websites all belong to major broadcasters or publishers in Singapore, which are licensed, with the exception of Yahoo! Singapore News, which does not yet have a media licence.
The new licence requires the sites to comply within 24 hours, to any directive from the MDA to remove content found to be in breach of standards. The new licensing regime will provide clarity on these standards. For instance, prohibited material means any content that is "against public interest, public order, public security, national harmony, public morality".
These sites are also required to put up a "performance bond" of S$50,000 (RM121, 400).
In a press statement, the MDA said: "This will place them on a more consistent regulatory framework with traditional news platforms which are already individually licensed."
For refusing to comply with any of the conditions, MDA has the power to "impose financial penalties or suspend or revoke the incumbent's licence".
However the authority will investigate any breaches before deciding on the appropriate penalties.
The Broadcasting Act empowers MDA to prosecute the site owner in court for unlicensed services and the incumbent shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$200,000 (RM485,200) or to a jail term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
Going forward, the MDA will continue to assess whether more Singapore news websites will need to be put under this licensing framework, reported Today.
This is not the first the time Singapore government has moved to control the internet media.
In January 2011, it required a local news blog The Online Citizen to register itself as a political association.
The blog, started in December 2006, comments on issues regarding politics and public policies, among others.
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