Lecture 6: Regulation of Media Content II [UPDATED]

Question 1

Name the 6 legislative acts that regulate the dissemination of media content.

Answer 1

1) Films Act (FA)
2) Undesirable Publications Act (UPA)
3) Internal Security Act (ISA)
4) Official Secrets Act (OSA)
5) Defamation Act (DA)
6) Copyright Act (CA)

Fallen Usher Inspected Oily Doubtful Cookies.

Question 2

Define the Undesirable Publications Act (UPA).

Answer 2

UPA prevents the importation/ distribution/ reproduction of undesirable publications (excluding films).

Question 3

Define “publication” in the context of the UPA.

Answer 3

• Book/ magazine/ periodical
• Sound recording (Not soundtracks in movies; more like interviews, podcasts, etc.)
• Picture/ drawing
• Photograph

Question 4

How does the UPA manage undesirable publications?

Answer 4

It stipulates the penalties for

[VERB]

1) Making
2) Reproducing
3) Importing
4) Possessing
5) Selling
6) Exhibiting
7) Distributing

any

[ADJECTIVE]

1) Obscene and
2) Objectionable

[NOUN] publication.

Question 5

What are the penalties for defying the UPA?

Answer 5

First offence: fine not exceeding $10,000 OR imprisonment not exceeding 3 years, OR both

Subsequent offence: imprisonment not exceeding 4 years

Question 6

Under the UPA, what are the characteristics of objectionable content?

Answer 6

1) Obscene content that tends to

(a) Deprave and
(b) Corrupt

2) Depicts

(a) sex
(b) horror
(c) crime
(d) cruelty
(e) violence
(f) consumption of drugs or other intoxicating substances

in a manner that is likely to harm the public.

3) May cause feelings of

(a) enmity
(b) hatred
(c) ill-will
(d) hostility

between different racial or religious groups.

Question 7

Name 5 of the 17 publications restricted under the UPA.

Answer 7

1) PlayGirl
2) Playboy
3) Velvet
4) All publications by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
5) All publications by International Bible Students Association

Question 8

Why was “Red Lines: Political Cartoons And The Struggle Against Censorship” by Professor Cherian George and Cartoonist Sonny Liew banned under the UPA?

Answer 8

IMDA said the publication was banned because it includes offensive images, including reproductions of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, which led to protests and violence overseas.

MUIS reviewed the publication and found that it “contained several cartoons/drawings of the Prophet, as well as cartoons which incite discrimination against Muslims, mock the Holy Quran, and demean Islam”.

“These images are offensive to many Muslims. Such content that negatively depicts Islam and Muslims, or any other religions for that matter, are not acceptable, and even more so in a multi-religious society such as Singapore,” said MUIS.

“The publication also contained other denigratory references pertaining to Hinduism and Christianity,” said IMDA.

Question 9

What does the Internal Security Act (ISA) entail?

Answer 9

ISA mainly deals with terrorism. It allows radicalised individuals/ anyone perceived to be a threat to state security to be detained without trial.

Question 10

How is the ISA remotely related to media content? Use an example to support your explanation.

Answer 10

Radicalised individuals may promote their beliefs online and ask others to join them.

For example, 38 y/o housewife Munavar Baig Amina Begam was radicalised online and attempted to influence others by promoting terrorism on her social media (Nov 2017). In this instance, pro-terrorism content was shared via a personal social media account. This warrants the arrest of the individual under the ISA.

Question 11

What does the Official Secrets Act (OSA) entail?

Answer 11

It protects confidential information (applies to both text and images). It discourages:

1) Civil servants from leaking information
2) Media from publishing said leaked information

Question 12

Give an example of confidential information (text) being leaked under the OSA.

Answer 12

Parties involved:

1) Housing Board officer, Ng Han Yuan
2) ST journalist, Janice Tai Jia Ling

Information breached:

• HDB project titled Streamlining of Resale Transactions
• Reduction of resale transaction time from 16 weeks to 8 weeks
• Reduction in the frequency of face-to-face appointments, from 2 to 1.

How HDB found out:

• Journalist posed very specific questions about the project + provided confidential information that was not yet made available in the public domain
• Ng was fined $2,000 in Dec 2017

Question 13

Give an example of confidential information (image) being leaked under the OSA.

Answer 13

When:
- March 2016

Parties involved:

1) Full-time police national serviceman (NSF)
2) NSF’s friends

Information breached:

• Photograph of the body of an SMRT technician killed on the job
• The photo was taken off a police computer terminal while the NSF was on duty

How officials found out:
- He share the screenshot with his friends online, which ended up circulating on other social media sites/ forums/ WhatsApp

Question 14

What does the Defamation Act (DA) entail?

Answer 14

It protects the reputation of individuals against false accusations.

Question 15

Name the two types of defamation under the DA, and explain what they entail.

Answer 15

1) Libel: written defamation
- Can happen in an article/ image you published in a magazine/ blog

2) Slander: spoken/ oral defamation
- Can happen in radio broadcast/ podcast/ any other form of audio recording

Question 16

Give an example of a local case of libel.

Answer 16

The editors of The Online Citizen (TOC) were found to be guilty of libel defamation.

Content:
Site Contributor, Daniel De Costa Augustin, penned a letter that defamed Cabinet members and sent it from an e-mail account of his friend, Mr Sim Wee Lee.

The letter was titled “PAP MP apologises to SDP” and sent to TOC from Mr Sim’s Yahoo account in September 2018.

The letter stated, among other things, that there was “corruption at the highest echelons” of the People’s Action Party leadership.

The sociopolitical website then published the letter with the title “The Take Away From Seah Kian Ping’s (sic) Facebook Post” and attributed it to Willy Sum, a name sometimes used by Mr Sim.

Question 17

Why is slander defamation harder to prove than libel defamation?

Answer 17

Slander defamation cases require convincing witness evidence as to the precise words spoken. The party accused will often deny that they used those words.

Question 18

What does the Copyright Act (CA) entail?

Answer 18

CA protects intellectual property.

Question 19

What types of work are protected under the CA?

Answer 19

• Original literary/ dramatic/ musical/ artistic works
• Sound recordings
• Cinematograph films
• Broadcasts (audio and visual, including the Internet)
• Cable programmes
• Published editions of original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works

Question 20

Why is the protection of intellectual property under CA important?

Answer 20

1) It ensures that creators are rewarded for their creativity and innovation. If copyright isn’t respected, someone else can reproduce your work and profit from it.
2) It also helps promote the creative industry.

Question 21

Elaborate on the recent amendments to the CA in Sinagapore.

Answer 21

Amendment:
Creators (e.g. wedding photographers) to receive copyright by default to their work even if they are commissioned to do the work.

Rationale:
- The amendments were proposed to recognise the creative efforts and contributions of all content creators, including photographers.

• Currently, creators of other commissioned works such as songs and books already receive copyright by default, unless the creators agree to have a different arrangement under their contract.
• The new amendments were simply made to standardise copyright ownership rules in Singapore, and put creators of commissioned photos, portraits, engravings, sound recordings and films on an equal footing with other content creators.

Question 22

Give an example of how a prominent media player was sued for infringing a fellow corporation’s copyright.

Answer 22

In August 2012, SPH filed an amended claim, citing a total of 254 articles stretching over 17 months, which it said Yahoo had reproduced without permission.