Monday, July 30, 2007
Malaysia quite liberal about Internet
Malaysia is quite a liberal country, as far as the Internet is concerned. The government's policy from the start has been not to intervene in the use of the Internet by people, including bloggers, who are free to do "proper things", said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
However, the ruling party Umno vice-president said if irresponsible bloggers go overboard in their Internet postings, the government would be forced to step in.
He said if they go overboard and insult, slander and break the laws, they will not get away scot-free, as no one is above the law. He said the opposition parties were also free to set up their own websites and blogs, but the same rules applied to them.
This is a democratic country, he stressed, but it does not mean anyone can do whatever they want, including breaking the laws. For postings that insult religion and the King, there are laws that can be used against the culprits, the minister pointed out.
Well, that seems reasonable enough, doesn't it?
Malaysia is quite a liberal country, as far as the Internet is concerned. The government's policy from the start has been not to intervene in the use of the Internet by people, including bloggers, who are free to do "proper things", said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
However, the ruling party Umno vice-president said if irresponsible bloggers go overboard in their Internet postings, the government would be forced to step in.
He said if they go overboard and insult, slander and break the laws, they will not get away scot-free, as no one is above the law. He said the opposition parties were also free to set up their own websites and blogs, but the same rules applied to them.
This is a democratic country, he stressed, but it does not mean anyone can do whatever they want, including breaking the laws. For postings that insult religion and the King, there are laws that can be used against the culprits, the minister pointed out.
Well, that seems reasonable enough, doesn't it?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Police reports against bloggers
Blogging and the law has made headlines of late in many countries around the world. In Malaysia alone, within the last 2 weeks there were 2 police reports involving bloggers.
Last week, opposition party PKR information bureau staff Nathaniel Tan was remanded to facilitate investigations under the Official Secrets Act in connection with a Deputy Minister's corruption case.
The latest police report was one lodged against Malaysia Today on July 23 which stated that it carried a series of comments and remarks that insulted the King, degraded Islam and incited hatred and violence in the country.
Ruling party UMNO information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib who lodged the report said: "I think they are very irresponsible and forget that our country has sensitivities on the King's institution, race and religion."
The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, in commenting on the police report said: "There is no special decision by the Cabinet to go against bloggers, but citizens must be aware that there are laws in this country."
He said anyone could lodge a police report and it was up to the authorities to investigate whether any law had been contravened.
Blogging and the law has made headlines of late in many countries around the world. In Malaysia alone, within the last 2 weeks there were 2 police reports involving bloggers.
Last week, opposition party PKR information bureau staff Nathaniel Tan was remanded to facilitate investigations under the Official Secrets Act in connection with a Deputy Minister's corruption case.
The latest police report was one lodged against Malaysia Today on July 23 which stated that it carried a series of comments and remarks that insulted the King, degraded Islam and incited hatred and violence in the country.
Ruling party UMNO information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib who lodged the report said: "I think they are very irresponsible and forget that our country has sensitivities on the King's institution, race and religion."
The Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, in commenting on the police report said: "There is no special decision by the Cabinet to go against bloggers, but citizens must be aware that there are laws in this country."
He said anyone could lodge a police report and it was up to the authorities to investigate whether any law had been contravened.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Bloggers don't have more privileges
Kuala Lumpur STAR newspaper reported the views of visiting University of Ulster (UK) senior lecturer in Law, Dr Venkat Iyer, that bloggers are liable for defamation as publishers in any other medium.
However, the difficulty arises when there are anonymous postings on blogs. It is this anonymity that creates a legal "grey area".
Dr Iyer said it was wrong to assume that bloggers enjoyed greater privileges than publishers in other media.
He said there have been cases in the West where legal action had been taken against websites for defamatory remarks. Some website owners were also taken to court when an offending anonymous posting was made, he said.
He was speaking to reporters after delivering a talk on "Defamation in Cyberspace" held by the Kuala Lumpur Bar on Saturday as part of its ongoing legal education program.
The Internet, he said, was a unique medium as it had a limitless potential audience, was easy to access, and had the ability to create communities regardless of geographical constraints.
He said the cyber-defamation possibilities included email messages, where risks are inherent when the recipient forwards such messages.
Well, thanks Dr Iyer, food for thought.
Kuala Lumpur STAR newspaper reported the views of visiting University of Ulster (UK) senior lecturer in Law, Dr Venkat Iyer, that bloggers are liable for defamation as publishers in any other medium.
However, the difficulty arises when there are anonymous postings on blogs. It is this anonymity that creates a legal "grey area".
Dr Iyer said it was wrong to assume that bloggers enjoyed greater privileges than publishers in other media.
He said there have been cases in the West where legal action had been taken against websites for defamatory remarks. Some website owners were also taken to court when an offending anonymous posting was made, he said.
He was speaking to reporters after delivering a talk on "Defamation in Cyberspace" held by the Kuala Lumpur Bar on Saturday as part of its ongoing legal education program.
The Internet, he said, was a unique medium as it had a limitless potential audience, was easy to access, and had the ability to create communities regardless of geographical constraints.
He said the cyber-defamation possibilities included email messages, where risks are inherent when the recipient forwards such messages.
Well, thanks Dr Iyer, food for thought.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Schoemaker At Summit
WebProNews spoke with Jeremy Schoemaker, AKA Shoemoney, at the Affiliate Summit in Miami. He shared tips about when to start considering monetization for a site, and also spam prevention methods. Watch our exclusive coverage from the Affiliate Summit in Miami for all the details.
Samsung Blogging Mobile Phone
Good news for bloggers. Samsung is due to come out with a blogging phone in parts of Europe this month and Southeast Asia next month.
It will be a slider phone that is capable of uploading blog content directly to popular UCC sites such as YouTube, Ublog and Buzznet.
Coming in metallic silver, it provides a 2 megapixel camera to shoot YouTube videos, has Bluetooth and is compatible with the UTMS technology (Europe's 3G wireless technology). It can be used for blogging anywhere and not only in hotspots since it is 3G enabled.
Called Samsung SGH-L760, it will first be available in Germany and Spain sometime this month and then will come into the Southeast Asian market next month.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Affiliate Summit Miami 2007
Affiliate Summit Miami will be taking place July 8-10, and WebProNews will be there to bring you exclusive coverage. The event will have the experts speaking on topics such as Addressing Publishers’ Needs, Monetizing Communities, as well as many more helpful subjects. Google’s Product Manager, Rob Kniaz told WebProNews in over the phone that he is looking forward to the event and is anticipating a great time. Stay tuned to WebProNews for the full coverage of the 2007 Affiliate Summit Miami.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
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