Resist Internet restrictions
An ASEAN meeting which starts today in Singapore has a descriptive title. The ASEAN Regulator's Forum on Internet is Singapore's latest attempts to seek a common stand by all ASEAN members to regulate and restrict the Internet.
A two-day forum of political and technical experts begins tomorrow behind closed doors. This presumably is to avoid any bothersome interruptions by citizens who might question whether ASEAN-wide regulation of the Internet is either an advantage or necessary.
Singapore specifically is seeking an ASEAN-wide mandate of its plan for stopping citizens from accessing certain objectionable material on the Internet.
The country's attorney-general and Internet experts will try to convince neighbors to install, and to legalize, what is known as a proxy server at all Internet access sites, in all ASEAN countries. A Thai delegation of technical experts is attending this meeting.
The agenda includes discussion of common policy on what is actually objectionable. The main presentations are, of course, by Singaporeans. Their position has been stated several times.
For example, last March, Information and Arts Minister George Yeo recommended government controls over Internet information dealing with sex, religion and politics. Some of this sounds good in the presentations.
Lurid stories of filthy pictures, pedophilia and perverts "surfing the Net" in search of young victims are common. But there are large leaps necessary, to get from these tales, even if they are true, to government control.
Forget for the moment that this proxy server also can be bypassed by knowledgeable users. It can only exclude information based on rules established by humans. Just how ludicrous this becomes was illustrated early this year by the family-oriented service, America On-line (AOL).
In an effort to protect its customers and their children from offensive Internet material, AOL technical experts set up a proxy server. Apparently armed with extremely dirty minds but little common sense, they banned the word "breast", meaning discussion and support groups for breast cancer were deleted.
Singapore's attempt to bring all ASEAN members behind its Internet policies should be resisted. The problems of Singapore are not shared identically by its neighbors.
Thais, for example, support a free press and multi-party democracy with open debate. Vietnam, on the other hand, denies its citizens any access to the Internet.
Thailand's pressing Internet problem is the rapidly growing gap between the elite of the Information Age and those who have no access to it. Perhaps 90 percent of our citizens are denied access to the Internet because of cost. It is far too early to expend energy and money on ways to try to restrict it.
-- The Bangkok Post