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Engaging New Media: Challenging Old Assumptions, Is Our First // ENGAGING NEW MEDIA / / CHALLENGING OLD ASSUMPTIONS A report by the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS) December 2008 // ENGAGING NEW MEDIA / / CHALLENGING OLD ASSUMPTIONS A report by the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society Singapore December 2008 Published December 2008 ISSN 1793-8961 © Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanised, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder. TABLE OF CONTENTS p 2—3 // Foreword / p 5—9 // Introduction / p 11—25 // Executive Summary / p 27—49 Chapter 1 // E-Engagement / / Trends in New Media / Why Engage Online? / Embarking on E-Engagement / E-Participation / Barriers to E-Engagement / Reasons for E-Engagement / Risk Assessment / Public Feedback / Recommendations Following Public Feedback / Conclusion p 51—78 Chapter 2 // Online Political Content / / Background / Review of Light-touch Policy / Online Election Advertising in Other Countries / Proposed Recommendations in the Consultation Paper / Public Feedback / Recommendations Following Public Feedback / Conclusion p 80—107 Chapter 3 // Protection of Minors / / Risks to Minors / How are these Risks Managed? / The Key Lies in Education / What is Being Done in Singapore / Proposed Recommendations in the Consultation Paper / Public Feedback / AIMS' Views / Recommendations Following Public Feedback / Conclusion p 109—116 Chapter 4 // Intermediary Immunity for Online Defamation / / Essential Ingredients of Law of Defamation / Application of Law of Defamation to the Internet / Concerns Expressed to AIMS / Singapore's Legal Position / Conferring Immunity to Intermediaries / Public Feedback / AIMS' Views / Recommendations Following Public Feedback p 118—215 // Annexes / / Annex A: Composition of AIMS / Annex B: Stakeholders Consulted Before Consultation Paper Release / Annex C: Findings from AIMS Study on "Singaporeans and the New Media" / Annex D: Feedback Received during Engagement Exercise p 217—224 // Bibliography and References / p 2—3 // Foreword / 2 // Foreword / FOREWORD In April 2007, the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang, appointed us to the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS). Our task is to study the implications the fast-developing new media would have on our society and suggest ways to manage them. This report, Engaging New Media: Challenging Old Assumptions, is our first. It is the product of eighteen months of research, consultation and deliberation. We consulted widely, both in Singapore as well as abroad. New media practitioners, academics, industry players, regulators as well as members of the public generously shared their expertise and views with us. As this is our first report, we decided to gather low-hanging fruit. We chose four time-sensitive issues: e-engagement, the regulation of online political content, the protection of minors and intermediary immunity for online defamation. Our overall objective was to find ways for our people to derive maximum benefit from new media while minimising its abuse. In the course of our work, we watched with great interest how the enormous power of the Internet was harnessed. There were two vivid examples. In March 2008 across the Causeway in Malaysia, during the general elections, online campaigning benefited those who used new media effectively. The Barack Obama campaign in the United States used the Internet to mobilise the young and raise record sums of donations. But just as evident was abuse of the new media. Emotive, slanted and misleading material was widespread online, debasing the quality of debate, and cost some political contestants precious votes. In August 2008, we released a consultation paper and invited the public to examine our ideas and give us fresh ones. The following six weeks turned out to be a tremendous learning experience. We reached out to people using both new and traditional media. We had face-to-face dialogues. The public response was most gratifying. We were cheered that many people evidently studied the paper in some detail. They were a great source of fresh information and ideas. We were also greatly encouraged by their support for our key recommendations. Most agreed with us that e-engagement should be stepped up and that regulations governing online political content should be liberalised, although there was no unanimity over how far we should go. There was widespread support for the need to provide more resources to give minors greater protection from harmful content in cyberspace, like pornography. The public also welcomed greater legal protection for those in industry providing online content. Not unexpectedly, the range of public opinion was wide. That enriched the discussion. // Foreword / 3 My colleagues and I want to place on record our deepest appreciation to all those who responded to our consultation paper either online, offline or face-to-face. They helped to shape our report. We are indebted to them as well as those we consulted in our travels. My thanks, too, to AIMS Deputy Chairman, Professor Tan Cheng Han, the Chairman of the Working Group, Mr Charles Lim, and members of the AIMS Council and Working Group. I value their expertise and the collegial approach taken in our deliberations. They helped make our work stimulating and meaningful. Cheong Yip Seng Chairman Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society December 2008 p 5—9 // Introduction / // Introduction / 5 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Over the last few years, the rapid growth of new media has dramatically transformed the way we communicate, live and work. In the process, new and increasingly complex social, ethical, legal and regulatory issues have emerged which society and policy makers will have to grapple with. For example, problems such as protecting children from access to harmful and inappropriate content, Internet addiction and cyberbullying have become more pronounced. At the macro level, issues such as how Government can continue to play a role in managing social tensions and maintaining a balance between individual expression and communal values will need to be addressed. 1.2 To review these issues, the Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS) was established in April 2007. Chaired by Mr Cheong Yip Seng, formerly the Editor-in-Chief of the English and Malay Newspapers Division at Singapore Press Holdings, AIMS is made up of 13 professionals and academics from diverse backgrounds. Professor Tan Cheng Han, a Senior Counsel and the Dean of the Law Faculty at the National University of Singapore, is the Council’s deputy chairman. Annex A provides the full list of AIMS members. Terms of Reference 1.3 The terms of reference of AIMS are: (a) To study the far-reaching social, ethical, legal and regulatory implications of a rapidly-growing Interactive Digital Media (IDM) sector; and (b) To make recommendations to the Government on how these issues should be managed while keeping pace with the development of IDM in Singapore. The Process 1.4 To gain a better understanding of the concerns of various stakeholders in new media, AIMS consulted media and telecommunications industry players, educators, bloggers, academics, non-governmental organisations and relevant government agencies, both in Singapore and overseas. A cross-section of Singapore society, from different backgrounds, was also consulted. Focus group dialogues were conducted in the first quarter of 2008 to understand the new media habits of Singaporeans. These qualitative studies have given valuable insights into the importance of new media in the lives of Singaporeans. The focus group sessions were conducted by a research firm we commissioned. AIMS also paid close attention to how the new media 6 // Introduction / played a part in Malaysia’s general election in March 2008 as it provided an interesting and timely case study. 1.5 To get a sense of how other countries are grappling with new media issues, AIMS travelled extensively, to the US, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea. Annex B contains a list of organisations we visited. Engagement Exercise 1.6 The AIMS consultation paper was released to the public on 29 August 2008 at a press conference during which mainstream journalists, as well as online journalists were invited. Journalists from The Online Citizen also filmed the event and posted a video of it on YouTube. Following this, AIMS conducted a six-week engagement exercise to invite feedback and responses from the public. To achieve this, AIMS posted the consultation paper on its website and made it available to be downloaded. Additionally, AIMS introduced its paper on its online forum and reached out beyond its website, by starting a thread on HardwareZone1. AIMS also started a blog on its website to keep the public informed of its progress. 1.7 During the six-week engagement exercise, AIMS received numerous email responses, gathered feedback and participated in several online forums and blogs. AIMS received 87 emails and SMS messages from the public. There were 185 forum posts which were viewed 7,620 times. A sampling of the feedback received can be found in Annex D. Organisations and corporate stakeholders likely to be affected by the recommendations were also invited to respond. 1.8 AIMS had also arranged numerous face-to-face meetings and discussion dialogues with various segments of the public to ensure that any gaps in the feedback received were addressed. 1.9 On 19 September 2008, AIMS held a public forum2 to which an open invitation was issued to members of the public. More than 40 people, as well as representatives from the media, attended this event. 1.10 The Council sought to take into account the opinions and views of the public on the issues raised in its paper. Many of the responses were detailed, insightful and well-argued.
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