Singapore's media regulator on Thursday sought to allay fears that a controversial new rule requiring news websites to obtain licences was aimed at stifling Internet freedom.
The surprise requirement, which takes effect on Saturday, triggered an outcry in the online community after a popular news site operated by US-based Yahoo! was included among 10 sites subject to licencing.
The rest are all local mainstream news sites and there are fears among bloggers critical of the government that they could be targeted next.
"The new licencing framework is not intended to clamp down on Internet freedom," the Media Development Authority (MDA) said in reply to queries from AFP, adding that it was "not MDA's intent to place onerous obligations" on the licencees.
The MDA on Tuesday said websites that 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. Full story...
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The surprise requirement, which takes effect on Saturday, triggered an outcry in the online community after a popular news site operated by US-based Yahoo! was included among 10 sites subject to licencing.
The rest are all local mainstream news sites and there are fears among bloggers critical of the government that they could be targeted next.
"The new licencing framework is not intended to clamp down on Internet freedom," the Media Development Authority (MDA) said in reply to queries from AFP, adding that it was "not MDA's intent to place onerous obligations" on the licencees.
The MDA on Tuesday said websites that 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. Full story...
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- Malaysia and Singapore get low marks for press freedom...
- Debate over blog limits intensifies in Singapore...
- Singapore's print media at the crossroads...
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