Fight Internet Censorship, Free Your Mind

Making baseless attacks and ranting do not help our cause. What the government fears and is trying to suppress are intelligent socio-political critiques that provoke readers to think, and alternative perspectives that enlighten the general populace.

Singapore Armchair Critic,The Online Citizen

It seems that Internet censorship in Singapore (described by the government as a light-touch regulatory framework) mostly depends on a combination of access controls (such as requiring political websites to register for a license) and legal pressures (such as defamation lawsuits and the threat of imprisonment). The intention is to prevent people from posting objectionable content (source, p. 81).

Singapores prominent bloggers and alternative news websites have concertedly launched apetitionto urge the Media Development Authority (MDA) to rescind thelicensing requirementfor online news sites; aprotestis also slated to take place this Saturday, 8 June atHong Lim Park.

Bloggers and activists have explainedwhy we should all careabout this new ruling which has taken effect from 1 June 2013, barely a few days after it wasannouncedto the public.

However, if we go by past experience, I daresay the likelihood of our government revoking this new licensing framework is close to nil.

Just look at its response to the opposition to the controversialPopulation White Paper.

Despite thestrong backlashfrom the society and reservations expressed bypeoplein the PAP camp, our leaders did not succumb to public pressure. There was only a symbolic concession in re-pitching the 6.9 million population target as but a worst case scenario, after which paper was bulldozed ahead in the PAP-dominant parliament, resoundingly endorsed byall except 13.

So in all likelihood that the government will not backpedal on the new ruling, what else can we do besides petitioning and protesting?

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Fight Internet Censorship, Free Your Mind