Dinosaur hunter
Well-Known Member
SINGAPORE: The Singapore government is stepping up regulations on local online news sites which report regularly on the country and have significant reach.
From 1 June, 10 websites will be subjected to an individual licence, just like traditional media platforms.
Communications and Information Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim also hinted that the rule may in future apply to overseas news sites reporting on Singapore.
He said the Broadcasting Act will be amended next year, with the view of including overseas news sites reporting on Singapore.
Currently, local news websites are subject to a Class Licence.
Once the affected sites come under the individual licensing regime, they will have to fork out a performance bond of S$50,000.
They will also have to comply with any take-down notice from authorities within 24 hours.
The Media Development Authority (MDA) said the new licence will provide greater clarity on what constitutes "prohibited content". These include content which solicits for prostitution, undermines racial and religious harmony, or goes against good taste.
For example, images of two brothers involved in a recent accident in Tampines -- which were widely circulated online -- would have been considered as going against good taste.
Authorities said the move is "timely" as it ensures a greater level of consistency in the media regulatory regime, as more people turn to online platforms for news.
The Nielsen Media Index showed a 5.7 per cent increase last year in the number of Singaporeans turning to the Internet to get their news and current affairs, compared to 2011.
However, the government said the move in no way signals a departure from the current "light-touch approach". Neither is it meant to be more onerous.
Dr Yaacob said: "It's about making sure that our regulatory framework is consistent -- that's the most important thing. At the moment, whether we like it or not, Singaporeans are receiving news both from mainstream media and online sites.
"Our mainstream media are subjected to rules, you know... Why shouldn't the online media be part of that regulatory framework?
"I don't see this as a clamping down, if anything, it is regularising what is already happening on the Internet and (making sure) that they are on par with our mainstream media."
However, observers we spoke to said the move may curtail online discourse.
Professor Ang Peng Hwa from the Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information said: "In a sense right now, you don't see the impact.
"I guess the issue is the potential impact, meaning that when other sites do come up and grow in size and become significant in terms of reach, they would then be subject to these rules.
"If the sites are profitable, I don't think it's a big issue."
He added: "It is a heavier hand, but the convergence regulation also seems to suggest that the new media is no longer so new.
"When the media is new and then the outcome of the law is uncertain, use a light touch approach. So people obviously feel that new media is no longer so new."
Bryan Tan, Partner at Pinsent Masons MPillay, said: "They will keep themselves small, they may keep themselves nimble and keep themselves even more loosely organised.
"Maybe let's split up into different sites, each side covering a specific area, but then encouraging publishing -- that may be a way to keep their site small. But readership will not drop as articles still get republished."
Only online news sites which fulfil two specific criteria will be subjected to individual licensing.
1) Sites which publish at least eight articles on Singapore over a period of two months.
2) They must also have been visited by at least 50,000 unique IP addresses from Singapore each month, over the same period.
So far, 10 such sites have been identified. All belong to mainstream media, with the exception of Yahoo news.
The 10 websites are:
asiaone.com
businesstimes.com.sg
channelnewsasia.com
omy.sg
sg.news.yahoo.com
stomp.com.sg
straitstimes.com
Tnp.sg
todayonline.com
zaobao.com
Yeo Hock Lin, vice president of E-News at Channel NewsAsia, said: "There are already requirements in the Internet Code of Practice which prohibit certain type of content from being carried on the website.
"For example, content that contains excessive or gruesome violence, or content that has excessive sex or is sexual in nature.
"We have already abided by all these requirements. I do not foresee this new licensing framework will change the kind of content that we put out.
"There will be just two new requirements -- one is the performance bond, the other is to comply with any take-down notice within 24 hours. There should be no issue for us to comply with this new framework."
When contacted, Yahoo News Singapore said it is not in a position to comment until it receives the actual license conditions for review.
Alan Soon, country ambassador of Yahoo! Singapore, said: "We are expecting that to come to us sometime in June, first week. It is only after that, we will be in a position to offer any comment."
On how the new regime will affect other popular socio-political websites like The Online Citizen and Temasek Review, Dr Yaacob said authorities will monitor such sites.
He said: "The MDA will look at all the sites... if they cross the threshold, if they cross our criteria and they are deemed to be licensed, then we'll call them up.
"So there is no difference as far as we are concerned -- whether you are one entity or the other -- this is a new framework for online news sites and if you fall into that criteria, you will be licensed."
Once MDA has assessed that the site has met the criteria to be individually licensed, it will issue a formal notification and work with the site to move it to the new licensing framework.
However, the site will still be able to seek clarifications on any issue within a month of the notification letter.
- CNA/al
News websites to be individually licensed - Channel NewsAsia
From 1 June, 10 websites will be subjected to an individual licence, just like traditional media platforms.
Communications and Information Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim also hinted that the rule may in future apply to overseas news sites reporting on Singapore.
He said the Broadcasting Act will be amended next year, with the view of including overseas news sites reporting on Singapore.
Currently, local news websites are subject to a Class Licence.
Once the affected sites come under the individual licensing regime, they will have to fork out a performance bond of S$50,000.
They will also have to comply with any take-down notice from authorities within 24 hours.
The Media Development Authority (MDA) said the new licence will provide greater clarity on what constitutes "prohibited content". These include content which solicits for prostitution, undermines racial and religious harmony, or goes against good taste.
For example, images of two brothers involved in a recent accident in Tampines -- which were widely circulated online -- would have been considered as going against good taste.
Authorities said the move is "timely" as it ensures a greater level of consistency in the media regulatory regime, as more people turn to online platforms for news.
The Nielsen Media Index showed a 5.7 per cent increase last year in the number of Singaporeans turning to the Internet to get their news and current affairs, compared to 2011.
However, the government said the move in no way signals a departure from the current "light-touch approach". Neither is it meant to be more onerous.
Dr Yaacob said: "It's about making sure that our regulatory framework is consistent -- that's the most important thing. At the moment, whether we like it or not, Singaporeans are receiving news both from mainstream media and online sites.
"Our mainstream media are subjected to rules, you know... Why shouldn't the online media be part of that regulatory framework?
"I don't see this as a clamping down, if anything, it is regularising what is already happening on the Internet and (making sure) that they are on par with our mainstream media."
However, observers we spoke to said the move may curtail online discourse.
Professor Ang Peng Hwa from the Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information said: "In a sense right now, you don't see the impact.
"I guess the issue is the potential impact, meaning that when other sites do come up and grow in size and become significant in terms of reach, they would then be subject to these rules.
"If the sites are profitable, I don't think it's a big issue."
He added: "It is a heavier hand, but the convergence regulation also seems to suggest that the new media is no longer so new.
"When the media is new and then the outcome of the law is uncertain, use a light touch approach. So people obviously feel that new media is no longer so new."
Bryan Tan, Partner at Pinsent Masons MPillay, said: "They will keep themselves small, they may keep themselves nimble and keep themselves even more loosely organised.
"Maybe let's split up into different sites, each side covering a specific area, but then encouraging publishing -- that may be a way to keep their site small. But readership will not drop as articles still get republished."
Only online news sites which fulfil two specific criteria will be subjected to individual licensing.
1) Sites which publish at least eight articles on Singapore over a period of two months.
2) They must also have been visited by at least 50,000 unique IP addresses from Singapore each month, over the same period.
So far, 10 such sites have been identified. All belong to mainstream media, with the exception of Yahoo news.
The 10 websites are:
asiaone.com
businesstimes.com.sg
channelnewsasia.com
omy.sg
sg.news.yahoo.com
stomp.com.sg
straitstimes.com
Tnp.sg
todayonline.com
zaobao.com
Yeo Hock Lin, vice president of E-News at Channel NewsAsia, said: "There are already requirements in the Internet Code of Practice which prohibit certain type of content from being carried on the website.
"For example, content that contains excessive or gruesome violence, or content that has excessive sex or is sexual in nature.
"We have already abided by all these requirements. I do not foresee this new licensing framework will change the kind of content that we put out.
"There will be just two new requirements -- one is the performance bond, the other is to comply with any take-down notice within 24 hours. There should be no issue for us to comply with this new framework."
When contacted, Yahoo News Singapore said it is not in a position to comment until it receives the actual license conditions for review.
Alan Soon, country ambassador of Yahoo! Singapore, said: "We are expecting that to come to us sometime in June, first week. It is only after that, we will be in a position to offer any comment."
On how the new regime will affect other popular socio-political websites like The Online Citizen and Temasek Review, Dr Yaacob said authorities will monitor such sites.
He said: "The MDA will look at all the sites... if they cross the threshold, if they cross our criteria and they are deemed to be licensed, then we'll call them up.
"So there is no difference as far as we are concerned -- whether you are one entity or the other -- this is a new framework for online news sites and if you fall into that criteria, you will be licensed."
Once MDA has assessed that the site has met the criteria to be individually licensed, it will issue a formal notification and work with the site to move it to the new licensing framework.
However, the site will still be able to seek clarifications on any issue within a month of the notification letter.
- CNA/al
News websites to be individually licensed - Channel NewsAsia
