South Korea plans to introduce a Cyber Defamation Law to regulate Internet freedom.
The new law is intended to deal with harmful Internet messages and to improve security and stem false information. It will bring the online medium in line with its tradtional counterparts.
Some measures being proposed are:
1. Suspend sites that go beyond limits
2. Require people posting their comments to use their real names
I believe that these measures are necessary. I have always used my personal name, in posting views on the Internet.
Hi Kin Lian,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote: "I have always used my personal name, in posting views on the Internet."
That's good that you have. So have I. Unfortunately not everyone enjoys the same freedoms as we do. For example, civil servants are not allowed to comment on political matters, but they have a lot to add to the debate.
In principle, of course we can all agree that cyber defamation is bad. But to regulate the internet to this extent will be a dampener on the free exchange of ideas. In Korea, defamation laws are probably less strict than here. If Singapore were to enact such laws for the Internet, we will ensure that discourse over the internet will be restricted to only the those with nothing negative to say about the govt, or those civil disobedience activists who will break the law just to prove a point. I don't think either is desirable.
Good for you - I don't. My family name is not the real thing on some on Johan Mok's sites. But now you know!
ReplyDeleteKin Lian, your avatar is getting better!