Over 130 Singaporean bloggers blacked out their homepages Thursday to protest new licencing rules for news websites they say will muzzle freedom of expression.
The 134 participants, including individual bloggers and community-based blogs, replaced their homepages with black screens featuring the words "#FreeMyInternet", as well as the time and venue of a rally to be held Saturday. The 24-hour blackout was to last until midnight.
The protest comes after surprise regulations came into force on June 1 requiring news websites -- including one operated by US-based Yahoo! -- to obtain licences from the city-state's official media regulator.
"This is not just a movement by socio-political blogs. The participating websites are from all genres from lifestyle and food, to technology," said Choo Zheng Xi, a spokesman for the "Free My Internet" group that organised the protest.
"The diversity reflects an awareness that the new regulations can affect anyone because it has been framed so widely," added Choo, the co-founder of popular political website The Online Citizen.
A rally will be held Saturday at a designated free-speech area, where police permits are not required.
Singapore's media regulator, the Media Development Authority (MDA), and government leaders have sought to allay fears over the past week that the new rules were aimed at the feisty blogging community, pointing out that blogs were not considered news portals.
Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim on Tuesday dismissed claims by bloggers that the new rules would impinge on Internet freedom.
"I think the best way for people to see, after the licences are issued, is whether the activists are indeed limited in their public discourse," he told the local media.
"I hope that the activists who are today making this far-fetched claim will be honest enough to admit it when the time comes."
Bloggers participating in the Internet blackout insisted that the broad power of the new rules were indicative of the government's intentions to require blogs to seek licencing in the future as well.
The new rules stipulate that websites which have at least 50,000 unique visitors from Singapore every month and publish at least one local news article per week over a period of two months must obtain an annual licence.
"Although the government would say that my fears are 'far-fetched' and that I am over-reacting, I'm not happy to 'wait and see'," Kirsten Han, a socio-political blogger, told AFP.
"I don't want to leave it up to trust that they won't make use of the catch-all definitions to extend the licensing regime to other websites and blogs in the future," she said.
AFP
Thu Jun 06 2013
![Online websites 'blackout' in Singapore to protest the new rules Online websites 'blackout' in Singapore to protest the new rules](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-06/81370493762_295x200.jpg)
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.
Pelepasan ketujuh air sisa nuklear Fukushima ke laut selesai
Jepun telah menyelesaikan pusingan ketujuh pelepasan air sisa radioaktif yang dirawat dari loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi ke Lautan Pasifik pada Selasa.
Empat termasuk kapten maut dalam pertempuran
Empat anggota tentera India termasuk kapten meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan selepas pertempuuran pada malam isnin di Hutan Desa.
Pakistan sahkan 4 warganya terbunuh di Oman
Pakistan berkata pada Selasa empat warganya terbunuh dalam insiden tembakan pada malam Isnin berhampiran ibu negara Oman, Muscat.
Lima terbunuh, puluhan cedera dalam protes antikuota di Bangladesh
Sekurang-kurangnya empat orang terbunuh dan puluhan lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pelajar yang memprotes sistem kuota dalam pekerjaan sektor awam dan polis di pelbagai bahagian Bangladesh pada Selasa.
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air, sekali gus mengurangkan kebergantungan pada perbelanjaan kerajaan dan mengukuhkan daya tahan.
Saya tak fitnah Guan Eng, cuma jelaskan siasatan SPRM - Muhyiddin
Presiden Bersatu Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini bahawa beliau tidak memfitnah Lim Guan Eng berhubung isu pengecualian cukai terhadap Yayasan Albukhary
KPT alu-alukan dapatan, cadangan PAC - Zambry
Ini termasuklah cadangan pelaksanaan Garis Panduan Pelaburan dan Pembiayaan oleh Universiti Awam 2024 kepada anak-anak syarikat di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT).