Bloggers: Net best left unregulated
The Straits Times, 1 June 2006
 
NETIZENS believe that the Internet has its own checks and balance, and is best
left unregulated by the Government.
 
   For instance, said bloggers, websites that feature wild, baseless
accusations or irresponsible content will soon lose their readership and
credibility, as readers move to other websites.
 
   And unfair criticisms of other postings on forums or blogs will likely draw
counter arguments, sparing the original writer the need to respond to every
comment.
 
   This is how the Internet regulates itself, said those who argued against the
need for the authorities to monitor and manage political debate on the Net.
 
   It was a point stressed repeatedly yesterday at the conference on new media
by bloggers, or what the Internet calls those who post their thoughts and
reports on online diaries called weblogs, or blogs.
 
   Mr Lee Kin Mun, 36, who runs the popular blog Mr Brown, said: 'If I became
irresponsible and started saying things without basis, people will go elsewhere
as there are other bloggers in Singapore.'
 
   He was responding to a call by Minister for Information, Communications and
the Arts Lee Boon Yang for Netizens to be responsible.
 
   The consequences of irresponsible comments on race or faith-related issues
in multi-racial Singapore, the minister explained to reporters later, could be
'horrendous'.
 
   Media practitioners agreed that such issues had to be approached with care,
but some urged the authorities to take a hands-free approach towards the Net.
 
   At a roundtable discussion, Mr Peter Lim, 67, a former editor-in-chief of
The Straits Times, argued for minimal regulation.
 
   He wondered if the 'light touch' that Dr Lee spoke of could evolve into
'almost no touch', and if the authorities were bold enough to do so.
 
   Another blogger, Mr Benjamin Lee, 37, agreed.
 
   'I'd rather there wasn't any touch at all. I would prefer the Government to
be engaged with the new media rather than regulate it,' he told reporters.
 
   One way, he suggested, was for politicians and civil servants to set up
their own blogs, or take part in online forums.
 
   Regulation of the Net was one of the hot topics at yesterday's conference,
which discussed the differences between traditional media, such as newspapers
and television, and new media in cyberspace.
 
   But while bloggers stressed the Internet's built-in checks and balance, they
also acknowledged Netizens' responsibility not to break the law in their blogs.
 
   Mr Lee Kin Mun said: 'Our slogan is, Prison got no broadband'. It is part of
our effort to educate, especially the young people.
 
'We tell them not to be rash. If they feel the content is risky, then we say,
don't publish'.'