Creating a media policy for cyberspace

Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta, vmahmud@yahoo.com

The Internet is an amazing cyberhighway of information. People can access practically anything online, from the latest news to e-mail greetings from loved ones. However, with the vast openness and freewheeling nature of the World Wide Web come dubious sites that may upset more then a few people.

There are countless numbers of questionable websites online, ranging from pornography and gambling to the politically subversive. This type of content has raised the concerns of parents, corporations and governments, all for their own individual reasons. Parents want to protect their children from what they may regard as objectionable Internet sites, corporations wish to make sure their image and reputation online are not tarnished, and governments (or at least some of them) would like to ensure that all news and information disseminated to their people comes from state-approved sources.

The Internet ignores all that. National borders, business concerns and parental guidance all go out of the window when it comes to the 'Net. Anyone, anywhere, can easily put up their own site, preaching their own gospel. So how can the world make sure that the web can be a safe, transparent and trustworthy medium? Who decides what is permitted and objectionable? And how can we create a media policy for the Internet age?

These were some of the questions pondered during a workshop sponsored by the Asia Europe Foundation (asef.org) in Singapore recently. The foundation, whose purpose is to promote a better understanding between the citizens of Asia and Europe, grappled with this topic by inviting decision makers from governments, the Internet industry, media and user communities throughout the region.

According to Joseph Yap, public affairs executive of the Asia Europe Foundation, his organization is keen on establishing a process of converging thinkers and media policy makers to discuss the issues and share their experiences. Thus, everyone can learn from each other and avoid the pitfalls one country has faced.

One of the Indonesian participants, Rudy Rusdiah, chairman of the Association of Community Internet Centers (apwkomitel.org), said that one of the most pressing issues, in his opinion, was the trade-off between censorship and freedom of speech. What content is harmful and what illegal? What institution should be responsible for such matters: industry, community or government, or a combination of all three?

Rudy also pointed out that media policy in Indonesia was still rather confusing. Topics, such as the broadcasting law and regulation of frequency allocation, were considered by some to be rather restrictive toward expansion of the Internet industry in Indonesia. There were also questions about the regulation of game centers and local Internet content.

Ambassador Delfin Colome, Executive Director of ASEF, said that in the end it would be users who would decide what content should appear on their computers. "It's a matter of balancing liberty with responsibility," he said.

As such, the roundtable discussion reviewed topics such as user-based, web-filtering systems, voluntary codes of conduct and the nurturing of media literacy toward creating a globally acceptable media policy for the benefit of the Internet community.

Using Internet filters, such as the ICRA system (icra.org), users are able to allow or disallow access to websites based on the objective information provided by the system and the subjective preferences of the user. It does not rate Internet content, as ICRA makes no value judgments about the sites.

The roundtable also discussed the creation of voluntary codes of conduct to be followed by the Internet industry, such as Internet Service Providers (ISP) and content websites. These rules should take into account the needs of all parties concerned, from the business goals of the industry, to the security issues of the government. They should, however, be flexible enough to keep up with social and technological developments in the world.

Perhaps one of the most important issues reviewed is the fostering of media literacy, in which people will be able to become more active in their quest for knowledge. Instead of relying on a few sources of information, they would be savvy enough to plow through the massive amounts of data online to arrive at their own conclusions and perhaps publish their findings online, sharing their thoughts with others. Considering the extremely contradictory points of view in the mass media regarding the war in Iraq or coverage of news about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, it would be helpful for the community to gather as much information as it can.

Some people may think that the creation of policies for the Internet is not a good idea. The 'Net should be free and unrestricted, they say: Any objectionable content is the price of complete freedom. However, at some point, someone will try to govern or control it, perhaps using their position in the global marketplace to advance their interests over others.

The anarchic nature of the Internet must be tamed. As such, the recommendations of the Asia Europe Foundation roundtable discussion are to be followed up by the participants in their home countries. It is hoped that this multilateral approach can assist the evolution of the Internet medium to the benefit of all.