So the government is now saying that "There is no change to the content standards for these news sites. Today, these sites already have to observe content guidelines under the Class Licence which require the sites to make efforts to keep their sites free of harmful content which is against the public interest / morality / order / security and national harmony. These same class licensing guidelines will continue to apply under the individual licence."
Does anyone else see what is going on here?
In the first place, nobody should need to have a licence (let alone a $50k one!) to write things onto their own sites. It's not like you're signing up for a discussion forum where you have to create a username and read rules and regulations. In other words, the World Wide Web is not YOURS to decide if people need LICENCES for writing stuff, even if it's all about you. It's not meant to be for anyone in this world to control - has any other thing, organisation, or person ever actually needed people to have a paid licence to talk about them specifically? Wow. I mean, imagine if some of the superpower countries were actually like that, huh? Speaking of the world, look at its name! WORLD Wide Web! What does that tell you?
The Internet has been, and always will be - an independent platform shared by all. It's for people to share ideas and communicate to many others. It has many faces. It's got nice parts, and it's got ugly sides. But that shouldn't actually matter - because the nature of the content of any website does not play the slightest part in ever justifying your claim that they need to pay for licence to meet the already present guidelines. How? Honey, you don't own the INTERNET. That is just plain arrogance, as well as ignorance. It's stupid. Please don't get caught up in it. If they're sharing lots of news about you, Cool, but that's their freedom. It's cyberspace. It's not something you can actually touch or set your own rules and laws on. I don't care how you want to justify it by saying that it will improve the quality of the content and that your news will be more consistent - IF WE WANTED TO READ THE SAME STUFF, WE WOULDN'T BE GOING ONLINE. That's the whole entire purpose of the existence of the internet. Both information and alternate points of
views. It's for people to share and learn and discuss. Not for you to babysit.
Independent media is called independent media for a purpose. Democracy is not just a word. I personally just cannot wrap my head around the fact that someone must actually control something as vast as the
Internet.
Eh, hello? Is the Class Licence not enough for you? When some genuinely harmful articles got around, you guys got those taken down pretty efficiently. The Class Licence is there, the guidelines are there. If you actually bothered to think, you'd realise that a lot of people complaining about certain issues means that those issues require attention - not the other way round.
Regarding the censorship from the class licence in the first place, it doesn't even actually matter what content is on the sites - people eventually need to learn to do critical thinking for themselves for what is true and untrue and honestly, trying to play nanny is not helping us progress in any way. This overprotectiveness does not look like it is going to do the people good in the long run. Singapore isn't a baby anymore. It's growing up, like a teenager approaching its late teens. It's just about to bloom and you yourself said that you're working towards a stronger economy and brighter future, and here you are - trying to still keep a tight hold on it like it's on a leash. Talking about democracy and making us say it in our pledge day by day when you can't even keep up with the full concept of democracy itself.
Please realise that this world is changing and we have to keep up with it. It's just not logical to have every part of you moving forward except for this. It's dragging us down - your overprotectiveness is smothering us.
2016 seems to be kind of far. This is something very serious and to be honest I, just like many others, feel absolutely violated. That being said, I'm not ungrateful to the PAP for their actual contribution to what we have today - building a country up isn't easy and I recognise that. But even though that is so, they aren't perfect. Sometimes they make mistakes, and this might just be one of them.
People are trying to believe in the country and the PAP - I mean yeah, there's been a growing amount of Opposition supporters too and that's cool too. Not that they are 100% anti-government because we do know our heritage and history and roots and how they all got passed down, but I think I can speak for them when I say that most people are just unhappy with some of the things about the way this country is going. Your ignoring them and failing to work on the issues are causing a very angry feeling to grow in your people. Please, open your eyes. Actually try seeing that there are just certain things that just don't work anymore. Those things need to be changed as soon as possible. Otherwise, the people will change you. If you actually care about your political reign, you should actually really start caring about your country and also on a bigger scale too. When a person is saying or writing stuff, nothing on the net should require a licence from them to say what they want to say. Doesn't matter if the content is provoking and/or controversial even - if you want to work something out, contact the dude and talk to him.
Don't make up standards and rules on an independent platform that is the direct opposite of mainstream. The Internet is bigger than you are. Don't be greedy.
P.S: I am usually totally apathetic about any kind of politic ongoings in this country. However, this has made me very upset and I feel that I must voice out and fight for it because I honestly feel violated as a citizen. It's not just fighting for democracy too - it's also fighting for equality that the internet has always had. I don't think that anyone is supposed to actually call the shots for something like licensing.
Somewhere out there in a parallel universe, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is facepalming hard.
Fellow Singaporeans who share the same sentiments (which I believe = most of you), I strongly urge you guys to not give up on this issue. 2016 is still kinda far away from here - we shouldn't just "lan lan suck thumb" in the meantime. Because if we start giving up and keeping quiet, they will keep doing this to us. We're supposed to be democratic. We are supposed to have a say for this country. Therefore, don't stay silent. Don't ever stay silent. We're not supposed to be afraid. We're not supposed to be restricted to the point where we fear for all those things. Never stay silent.
The Little Peanut
TRS Contributor