Blogs of Hate
Another case of the law extending its reach into cyberspace.
Previously, a US-based government scholar was threatened with a defamation suit for alleged remarks he made on his blog about his boss, a temperamental bigwig. These incidents raise some interesting questions about ethics and the rights of the cyber community.
1. Racism cannot be condoned. It is relatively easy to police overt racism, but isn't covert racism, the racism that is hidden under layers of indifference, ignorance, arrogance and stereotyping, condoned time and again by the public that is more insidious?
2. Besides the fact that it was a case of racial discrimination, how should the government police the internet? What level of anonymity and rights should bloggers and the cyber community enjoy? As a deterrant, how effective is the punishment? What are the boundaries of the police jurisdiction online?
3. Is public prosecution the best way to react to any inflammatory remarks online? Does the cyber community have the right and need to self-censor? What happens when the government starts to patrol the internet and enacts its own moral code for all net users?
TODAY: Net Closes in on Blog of Hate
"Two charged over online racist rants; other Netizens may watch their words
BLOGGERS have become used to letting off steam, while invective in Internet forums is nothing new. Yesterday, however, the online community received a little reminder that real laws still apply in the virtual world as two men were charged in court for taking their racist outpourings too far.
Benjamin Koh Song Huat, 27, and Nicholas Lim Yew, 25, were arrested and charged under the Sedition Act.
Investigations into the case, which has created a buzz among bloggers, began after someone called the police hotline at 3am on June 19 to complain that Koh's blog on www.upsaid.com "discussed topics that would disrupt racial harmony".
Koh faces three charges while Lim faces two for remarks made between June 12 and June 17 this year. If convicted, they could be fined up to $5,000 per charge or jailed up to three years, or both."- Ansley Ng
Previously, a US-based government scholar was threatened with a defamation suit for alleged remarks he made on his blog about his boss, a temperamental bigwig. These incidents raise some interesting questions about ethics and the rights of the cyber community.
1. Racism cannot be condoned. It is relatively easy to police overt racism, but isn't covert racism, the racism that is hidden under layers of indifference, ignorance, arrogance and stereotyping, condoned time and again by the public that is more insidious?
2. Besides the fact that it was a case of racial discrimination, how should the government police the internet? What level of anonymity and rights should bloggers and the cyber community enjoy? As a deterrant, how effective is the punishment? What are the boundaries of the police jurisdiction online?
3. Is public prosecution the best way to react to any inflammatory remarks online? Does the cyber community have the right and need to self-censor? What happens when the government starts to patrol the internet and enacts its own moral code for all net users?
TODAY: Net Closes in on Blog of Hate
"Two charged over online racist rants; other Netizens may watch their words
BLOGGERS have become used to letting off steam, while invective in Internet forums is nothing new. Yesterday, however, the online community received a little reminder that real laws still apply in the virtual world as two men were charged in court for taking their racist outpourings too far.
Benjamin Koh Song Huat, 27, and Nicholas Lim Yew, 25, were arrested and charged under the Sedition Act.
Investigations into the case, which has created a buzz among bloggers, began after someone called the police hotline at 3am on June 19 to complain that Koh's blog on www.upsaid.com "discussed topics that would disrupt racial harmony".
Koh faces three charges while Lim faces two for remarks made between June 12 and June 17 this year. If convicted, they could be fined up to $5,000 per charge or jailed up to three years, or both."- Ansley Ng
posted by moebius @ 9:26 AM
0 planning advice given:
Post a Comment
<< Home