IP: Facing Reality -- and the Internet -- Singapore Rethinks Thought Control

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> From: "the terminal of Geoff Goodfellow" <geoff () iconia com>
>
>
> http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB936129677738516588.htm
>
> Facing Reality -- and the Internet --
> Singapore Rethinks Thought Control
> By MICHELLE LEVANDER
> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
> Singapore, famous for its control over what its citizens read and watch, says
> the Internet is forcing it to relax some of its strict censorship laws.
>
> It used to be easy for Singapore to keep out books, movies and magazines by
> simply banning their distribution. The government still prohibits home
> satellite dishes, has forbidden key opposition politicians from delivering
> outdoor speeches, and can yank the licenses of publishers deemed too
> controversial. But today, fully 20% of Singaporeans are connected to the
> Internet, meaning that many forbidden items are just a mouse click away. And
> groups with "objectionable" messages are getting more savvy about eluding the
> censors.
>
> On top of this, the government itself is making its nanny state hard to
> maintain by mounting a huge effort to fashion Singapore as a "wired 
> island" and
> an e-commerce hub for Asia -- providing the entire island nation with
> high-speed Internet access. "The center of gravity has shifted," says George
> Yeo, minister of trade and industry and a principal architect of Singapore's
> information policies. "We have to respond."
>
> <snip>
>
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