Byravee Iyer
May 29, 2013

Singapore to start regulating news sites

SINGAPORE - Online news sites that report on Singapore will need to get a license from the Media Development Authority (MDA) starting 1 June, placing them in the same regulatory framework with traditional news platforms.

Yahoo is one of the 10 websites subject to the new regulation
Yahoo is one of the 10 websites subject to the new regulation

Under the new regulation, online news sites will be individually licensed if they report an average of at least one article per week on Singapore’s news and current affairs over a period of two months and if they have 50,000 unique visits from Singapore during the same period. News sites under the purview of the new rule will need to shell out S$50,000 toward a performance bond.

MDA published a list of 10 websites that currently fall under these parameters: Yahoo, asiaone.com, businesstimes.com.sg, channelnewsasia.com, omy.sg, stomp.com.sg, straitstimes.com, tnp.sgp, todayonline.com and zabao.com.

“When MDA has assessed that a site has met the criteria to be individually licensed, MDA will issue a formal notification and work with the site to move it to the new licensing framework,” the MDA said in a statement.

Hari Ramanathan, Y&R Asia’s regional strategy director, said press freedom in Singapore is a relative term. “There isn’t a choice of newspapers that can offer different points of view, so I don’t think it’ll change the state of the Singapore press, and neither is this aimed at them.”

Siew Kum Hong, a former member of parliament in Singapore, pointed out that this is a significant retreat from the "light touch" approach to Internet censorship that the Singapore government has espoused since the late 1990s. "MDA now has the power to order online news sites to remove purportedly illegal content within 24 hours, failing which the site stands to lose its $50,000 bond. But there is no equivalent to this for newspapers," he added.

Singapore, a regional headquarters for several multinationals, has strictly controlled media regulations. According to Y&R's 'Generation Asia' research study, 66.8 per cent of Singaporeans said serious journalism is required for a nation to be considered developed. Singapore ranked sixth on Y&R/VML's media freedom index out of a total of nine. Thailand, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong ranked ahead of Singapore. Vietnam, Korea and Philippines ranked after it. The research also revealed that many Singaporeans have a very basic relationship with traditional media, where they see it as the best place to see ads.

Y&R’s Ramanathan noted that licensing would curb the tone of the conversation from bordering on slander or defamatory and would as a result affect some larger information sites as well.

He added that a move like this will prevent sites from ever becoming the equivalent of a brand like the Huffington Post. “What will be interesting to see is if it will kill the conversation that happens in the comments section, which is usually where the tone can get quite extreme.”

Kum Hong, for his part,  cautioned that the new ruling would have a "chilling" effect on news reporting on the targeted sites. "It will create some incentive to self-censor. It will also create a formal mechanism whereby the Government can censor online news."

Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

36 minutes ago

Agency Report Card 2024: Ogilvy

Ogilvy APAC celebrated a strong creative year in 2024, clinching top regional honours at Cannes Lions. Yet operational headwinds, particularly in China, tested its resilience and reshaped its growth strategy.

58 minutes ago

Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards 2024: ...

Ogilvy and UM win global network of the year awards for creative and media respectively, while Special agency in New Zealand earns Asia-Pacific network of the year.

2 hours ago

Apple Watch’s heart story strikes a chord in Japan

Apple’s new Japan campaign tells the real-life story of a heavy metal fan whose Apple Watch alerts help detect a life-threatening heart condition just in time.

2 hours ago

2025 Cannes Contenders: RGA creatives weigh in

A ubiquitous surname, a sexually transmitted infection, the printing of memories and an animal god that helps gamers might all bring fame glory to campaigns in Cannes next week.