In February 1996, John Perry Barlow,
a renowned Internet activist, published a 'declaration
of the independence of cyberspace'. This document asked
governments of the industrial world to leave cyber citizens
alone. He declared that these governments have no sovereignty,
moral rights nor methods of enforcements in cyberspace.
However, the open and democratic nature
of Internet leaves it vulnerable to all kinds of abuses.
Hatred speeches, obscenity, content threatening national
and economic security - just to name a few - are thriving
in the lawlessness of cyberspace. That is why, less than
five years after Barlow's publication, consumers and businessmen
alike are seeking assurances of authenticity, integrity
and reliability in online transactions.
Even though the government assures that
it will not censor the Internet, it is beginning to be
accepted that leaving the Internet free from restraints
would not only be undesirable but it may also hinder Malaysia
from achieving the national policy objectives, such as
nurturing user confidence and developing industry capabilities.
The challenge here is to strike a balance
between regulations and freedom, and between chaos and
control. To achieve this desired equilibrium, a self-regulatory
body called The Communications and Multimedia Content
Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) was established in February 2001
to govern and address content related issues disseminated
by electronic networked medium. A Content Code was then
drafted by the members representing all the key industries
in Malaysia and is currently under its fourth revision
by relevant government authorities.
The Code draws out guidelines and procedures
for good practice and standards of content disseminated
to audiences by service providers in the communications
and multimedia industry in Malaysia. Because CMCF operates
on self-regulation in line with the Content Code, the
government can keep its promise of not intruding into
the Internet.
However, is accepted that the codes
churned out may be changed or adapted to cater to the
evolution of the ICT environment. In a borderless world
such as cyberspace where communications cross state and
country borders a millions times each second, it is possible
that in the near future Malaysia's framework for regulating
Internet might base its shape not only by the country's
specific concerns, but by internationally accepted laws
and regulations. |
