Yaacob calls for Internet code of conduct

By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia, 2 Mar 2012

Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, has called on the online community to develop an Internet code of conduct.

This is an area being looked at by the Media Development Authority (MDA) to build a safe online environment.

But in the case of the code of conduct, Dr Yaacob said the online community must take the lead.

"The Internet is very much a public space, and the community is best placed to determine what online behaviour is acceptable and what is not," Dr Yaacob said. "Moderators, website owners and the broader Internet community can help to set the tone and guidelines for online interaction and behaviour."

Dr Yaacob also addressed concerns raised by members over cyber bullying.

He said Singapore has adopted a two-pronged approach of legislative measures and public education to tackle the problem, and the Home Affairs Ministry is reviewing legal instruments to deal with wrongful Internet behaviour.

He also suggested that the online community should foster a culture of netiquette or a code of conduct to encourage gracious behaviour online.

Dr Yaacob said: "Different people have different views on what constitutes good netiquette. But I think there is common ground on some fundamental principles, such as respect for differing views, not abusing fellow netizens, not making false statements, and being considerate to one another.

"Just as we have social norms to guide our interaction in the physical world, there should also be similar norms to guide online behaviour and interaction."

Given the widening reach of the Internet, the ministry will also focus on educating the public on ways to navigate cyberspace safely.

Outlining these plans, Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, Chan Chun Sing, said these include the ability to research and verify information, to distinguish between fact and opinion, and to develop new insights from diverse ideas.

"We also need to adopt a disciplined approach to check our 'confirmation bias', or tendency to only access and accept information that supports our pre-existing suppositions, and to evaluate the diversity of ideas and information out there to see how things can and should be understood in context. These are life skills that we must continually hone," he said.

Mr Chan said the Inter-Ministry Cyber Wellness Committee has been established to promote responsible use of the Internet across public, private and people sector initiatives.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) has set up a Parents Portal to equip parents with cyber wellness knowledge and skills.

Mr Chan said cyber wellness includes an understanding of the risks of harmful online behaviour and an awareness of how to protect oneself.

Meanwhile, the National Library Board is working with the Education Ministry (MOE) to develop resources for primary and lower secondary students.

MOE is also collaborating with MDA on tools for upper secondary and tertiary students.

There will also be initiatives to reach out to senior citizens.

Mr Chan said the ministry will also continue to support initiatives that protect children against cyber-bullying, as well as measures that curb gaming addictions.

Moving forward, Mr Chan said the MDA will review the role of the Internet and Media Advisory Committee to see how it could play an even more pro-active role in equipping Singaporeans with skills to navigate cyberspace responsibly.

He said: "The evolving Internet and media environment is a new terrain for many of us individually and collectively as a society. Our individual ability to master the skills...and navigate in this environment will help define our aspirations, achievements and contributions in life.

"Our collective ability to define the rules we want to operate in will define our society. Going forward, we need to strengthen our information quotient both at the individual and societal level for us to thrive."

Additionally, consumers can expect more protection of their personal data next year. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim said Singapore's infocomm and media ecosystem must be one that consumers can trust.

Dr Yaacob was responding to a Parlimentary question MP for West Coast GRC Arthur Fong.

Mr Fong said there are alleged incidents of companies who through legitimate means obtain clients' personal data but then sell them commercially and called for a law to address this or for the authorities to regulate this.

Dr Yaacob: "MICA is formulating a Data Protection Law to prohibit the unnecessary collection of personal data, as well as the unauthorised use and disclosure of such data by organisations.

"MICA has also proposed to create a National Do-Not-Call Registry. This will allow consumers to opt out of unsolicited marketing messages received through phone, SMS, MMS or fax. Consumers can expect the Data Protection Bill to be introduced in Parliament the third quarter of this year, and for the Registry to be set up by end 2013."

Striking right note to curb cyber harassment
By Andy Ho, The Straits Times, 8 Mar 2012

A NANYANG Technological University (NTU) student was recently accused of sexual cyber harassment involving at least five female students.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old girl and her 21-year-old boyfriend were recently charged with extorting money from a 22-year-old man. They allegedly threatened to upload online a video of the man in the nude.

While criminal intimidation, online or offline, is already an offence under the Penal Code, there is no specific cyber harassment law here yet. It was revealed in Parliament that one is being looked at now.

Other terms such as cyber bullying, cyber stalking, and cyber intimidation are often used interchangeably. However, some lawyers prefer to use 'cyber bullying' if it involves minors victimising other minors. They would apply the other terms to situations involving adults.

All, however, entail unwelcome and unconsented contact that is repeatedly made over the Internet or wirelessly.

Cyber harassment differs from the offline variety in two ways.

First, the cyber harasser can reach the victim effortlessly with a keystroke and impact her psychologically no less than offline harassment would. His electronic message is transmissible far and wide instantaneously.

Second, because the Internet affords anonymity - or pseudonymity if a false identity is used - the harasser easily avoids accountability unless tracked down, an onerous task.

One form of pseudonymity is when the harasser impersonates the victim online and then does nasty or illegal things with that assumed identity. The harasser's repertoire for offence is limited only by his creativity. He can post offensive or inflammatory messages, snide remarks, taunts, threats, or crude and graphic sexual comments. He may also post on chatrooms and adult personal sites using the victim's identity, pretending to be the victim looking for casual sex.

Her real photos, e-mail address and phone number may be posted so that interested men may proposition her unawares. Some such men may approach the victim in person if rebuffed online. Such cases may end up in physical violence.

The deed can be done using SMS, by e-mail, in chatrooms, on Facebook, or through MSN and Skype. There are also apps that can spoof SMS and caller ID so the victim sees the text message or call as coming from not the harasser but family or friend. There are apps to disguise your voice, changing its tone so even friends and family cannot recognise it.

Because it is often anonymous or pseudonymous, not only victims but also law enforcement officers are disadvantaged. While Internet service providers (ISPs) may be able to identify the harasser from his Internet Protocol (IP) address and remove his messages, the Electronic Transactions Act here treats an ISP as just owning the 'pipes'. That is, ISPs are seen as simply providing the subscriber with Internet access, so they are not considered liable for third-party content.

Lawyers feel that the law here recognises that ISPs cannot police illegal activities on their network (such as copyright infringement) though they could be asked to reveal the identities of specific users if petitioned by parties with legal standing.

In a copyright infringement case, Odex versus Pacific Internet (2008), the High Court did order the ISP involved to reveal the identities of illegal downloaders of copyrighted content to the owners.

The new cyber harassment law is certainly a good initiative. But the law is not going to be an easy one to write. Making it too easy to get ISPs to reveal the identity of an anonymous online speaker might chill anonymous speech on the Internet.

Making it difficult for the alleged victim to petition ISPs, to reveal the alleged harasser's identity, will mean the victim and law enforcement officers will have an inordinately hard time proving a case to get legal relief.

So the new law must strike the right balance between the speech rights of alleged harassers and the personal well-being of alleged victims.

It must choose whether to put the burden of proof on the supposed victim to ask if the alleged harasser's actions will cause a reasonable person the kind of emotional distress or fear of being harmed that the victim claims.

Or, it could choose to put the burden on the alleged harasser to ask if he could have reasonably known that his actions would cause the average woman such emotional distress or fear for her safety.

If we look at the experience elsewhere, the United States has no national law on this but 38 of its states do have cyber harassment laws, some of which lean to the former approach and some to the latter.

Britain did choose the latter approach in its Protection from Harassment Act (1997), which also applies to cyber harassment. The British law penalises actions which the reasonable person would know are likely to put others in fear of violence on more than two occasions.

This might be a model among others for Singapore to consider adapting for local needs.