Blogs and podcasts may get more leeway at next GE
Govt likely to review policies on political activities on Net to engage new
media
The Straits Times, 1 June 2006 
 
THE next general election could feature more political news and freer
discussion on the Internet, as the Government plans to ease up its watch over
political happenings in cyberspace.
 
 It intends to review the way it manages new media, and adopt what it called
a 'lighter touch approach' at the next polls.
 
 Although there are no details yet, the shift could well affect the current
ban on the use of 'live' video feeds and audio recordings by political parties
during a GE, or the requirement for political websites to be registered.
 
 But even as he announced the likely change in policy yesterday, Information,
Communications and the Arts Minister Lee Boon Yang defended the Government's
'cautious' approach this time round.
 
 'There are many people who use their websites and blogs to put out malicious
and false information in order to further their own agendas,' he told about 250
public relations professionals attending a conference on new media at the Grand
Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.
 
 He also stressed that the Government will maintain its firm stance when it
came to taking to task those who threatened Singapore's multiracial and
multi-religious peace.
 
 But he acknowledged that policies had to evolve, and the Government had to
do more to engage Net-savvy users of new media.
 
 In his opening speech at the conference organised by the Public Relations
Academy, he said: 'We will review our policies on the Internet and new media
during the election period, bearing in mind the changes taking place.
 
 'We will consider how to better embrace these changes so that by the next
GE, we may be able to adopt a lighter touch approach during the election
period.'
 
 The announcement was especially significant in light of the restrictions
placed on the distribution of audio and video recordings during the recent
polls. The Government had feared that such 'podcasts' and 'vodcasts' would have
an undue influence on voters, but the ban raised a furore on the Net.
 
 Blogs, which started out as online diaries, have gained currency round the
world as an alternative to traditional media - often tagged disdainfully in
Netspeak as 'mainstream media', or 'MSM'. Many bloggers see themselves as
online equivalents of traditional journalists and commentators, posting
photographs, reports and commentaries on their websites.
 
 So it was with some satisfaction that some of them welcomed Dr Lee's words,
seeing them as a sign that the Government was making efforts to engage rather
than regulate new media. Popular local blogger Lee Kin Mun, better known by his
online monicker of 'mr brown', called it 'a step in the right direction'.
 
 'When you show you have a light touch, people are less likely to be fearful,
or do the extreme stuff,' the 36-year-old said.
 
 Dr Lee also told reporters that the Government had not taken action against
any Net users in the recently held elections, a move which bloggers noted with
satisfaction.
 
 In any case, public relations consultant Basskaran Nair pointed out, the
Government had 'little choice' but to take its light-touch approach. He and Mr
Lee noted that the sheer number of bloggers - in the tens of millions - and
their anonymity made it near-impossible to control their actions, or track down
those who broke the rules.
 
 'You cannot ask for a rebuttal in the same way you ask the MSM,' said Mr
Nair. 'The blogger can just walk off and close down his blog.'
 
 
'When you show you have a light touch, people are less likely to be fearful, or
do the extreme stuff. If you clamp down, people will either shut up or go to
the other extreme and fight back.'
 - MR LEE KIN MUN, 36, a popular blogger better known by his online monicker
of 'mr brown'