Traditionally, the press is referred to as the Fourth Estate but academicians have coined this new phrase known as the Interconnected Estate which is the place where any person with net access has a voice and the power to effect change. With rapid advances in connection technologies, citizens are now not just armed with laptops/netbooks/tablets but also with very powerful mobile phones which are likely to revolutionize the way in which they effect change in their societies. With such developments, media organizations have come to realize that unlike the past, consumers have less loyalty and little patience in the way they want to access or disseminate news.
Authoritarian regimes such as China have tried to control the interconnected estate but the truth is - in time to come, it will be more and more difficult to control/limit the power of the individual/groups to communicate, thanks to technology!
Here's a brief rundown of recent developments to let us have a feel of what MAY be ahead of us.
Since March 2009, YouTube has been blocked in China. Despite its ban, Chinese activists still access Twitter and use it to communicate to each other through foreign servers. Facebook has been blocked since July 2009, after ethnic riots in Xinjiang as announced in The People's Daily, a daily newspaper and the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP) over HERE. From then, other Facebook clone websites have emerged in China. If ever the ban is lifted, it is likely Facebook might have difficulties penetrating net space there.
Google is available in China but Google shut down its Chinese servers after the Chinese government ordered Google to censor search results. This site gives another possible reason for the closure. It even hypothesized that new laws in China could make Skype illegal too.
According to the THIS REPORT by Bernama which appeared in Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today, Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam said that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 will be amended to expand its scope and include 'publications' posted online and plug loopholes. He announced that the ministry is looking at the definition of "publication" and whether it should include Internet content, blogs or Facebook for the law to keep pace with the changing landscape of the digital era. He clarified that the ministry was working with the Attorney-General's Chambers to study the proposed amendments which he hoped would be tabled in Parliament by March to overcome weaknesses, especially those involving multimedia content.
In the report, he rationalized that the Act has to be expanded so that it does not only cover the print media due to the changing landscape with the intrusion of digital technology.
With that, it is anticipated that online news websites, as with the traditional media, will required to apply for government-issued publication licences.
He clarified that ministry monitored Internet content on a daily basis, including what was shown on the online video site YouTube.
Is it all that simple?
CLICK HERE for Kelly Carey's article on New Borders, New Boundaries : Reconfiguring Space and Identities Online.
It is obvious that the recent rise of the interconnected estate while creating new opportunities for growth and development, has actually posed serious challenges to traditional governance. Countries such as China have realized this challenge and taken steps to monitor/minimize its impact on their political/economic power and status quo. We have seen how some have become repressive cutting off ease of contact with the rest of the world.
What leaders need to realize is that authoritarian methods have little effect these days. The spread of technology has broken down so many barriers including age/gender/religious/socio-economic barriers due to the rise of communications technology and powerful mobile phones.
Obviously, our leaders are oblivious to the power of communication technology and the manner in which civil society is growing. While activism may be on a local level, the perspective and forces of influence can be global as a whole new vista is available to them, thanks to the IT and communications technology. Leaders and governments who do not ride this wave of change and instead, try to curb this wave, are likely to face backlash from those who do.
Regardless, I hope technology can be used by both citizens and our government to promote values of freedom, equality, human rights and unity that hand in hand, there can be a better place for all. In the mean time, Malaysians had better start thinking about other ways to communicate their ideals.
Authoritarian regimes such as China have tried to control the interconnected estate but the truth is - in time to come, it will be more and more difficult to control/limit the power of the individual/groups to communicate, thanks to technology!
Here's a brief rundown of recent developments to let us have a feel of what MAY be ahead of us.
Since March 2009, YouTube has been blocked in China. Despite its ban, Chinese activists still access Twitter and use it to communicate to each other through foreign servers. Facebook has been blocked since July 2009, after ethnic riots in Xinjiang as announced in The People's Daily, a daily newspaper and the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP) over HERE. From then, other Facebook clone websites have emerged in China. If ever the ban is lifted, it is likely Facebook might have difficulties penetrating net space there.
Google is available in China but Google shut down its Chinese servers after the Chinese government ordered Google to censor search results. This site gives another possible reason for the closure. It even hypothesized that new laws in China could make Skype illegal too.
According to the THIS REPORT by Bernama which appeared in Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today, Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam said that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 will be amended to expand its scope and include 'publications' posted online and plug loopholes. He announced that the ministry is looking at the definition of "publication" and whether it should include Internet content, blogs or Facebook for the law to keep pace with the changing landscape of the digital era. He clarified that the ministry was working with the Attorney-General's Chambers to study the proposed amendments which he hoped would be tabled in Parliament by March to overcome weaknesses, especially those involving multimedia content.
In the report, he rationalized that the Act has to be expanded so that it does not only cover the print media due to the changing landscape with the intrusion of digital technology.
With that, it is anticipated that online news websites, as with the traditional media, will required to apply for government-issued publication licences.
He clarified that ministry monitored Internet content on a daily basis, including what was shown on the online video site YouTube.
Is it all that simple?
CLICK HERE for Kelly Carey's article on New Borders, New Boundaries : Reconfiguring Space and Identities Online.
It is obvious that the recent rise of the interconnected estate while creating new opportunities for growth and development, has actually posed serious challenges to traditional governance. Countries such as China have realized this challenge and taken steps to monitor/minimize its impact on their political/economic power and status quo. We have seen how some have become repressive cutting off ease of contact with the rest of the world.
What leaders need to realize is that authoritarian methods have little effect these days. The spread of technology has broken down so many barriers including age/gender/religious/socio-economic barriers due to the rise of communications technology and powerful mobile phones.
Obviously, our leaders are oblivious to the power of communication technology and the manner in which civil society is growing. While activism may be on a local level, the perspective and forces of influence can be global as a whole new vista is available to them, thanks to the IT and communications technology. Leaders and governments who do not ride this wave of change and instead, try to curb this wave, are likely to face backlash from those who do.
Regardless, I hope technology can be used by both citizens and our government to promote values of freedom, equality, human rights and unity that hand in hand, there can be a better place for all. In the mean time, Malaysians had better start thinking about other ways to communicate their ideals.
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Do check the Interconnected Estate site for excellent articles. This post (and my other post on Cyberspace) is rather academic because it is the result of my ongoing literature review for topics of research for my studies. Some parts could be parts of my eventual abstract to be submitted if I do NOT fall prey to procrastination. My apologies if I have bored you with this post. Any form of feedback is most welcome. Have a nice day.
Wan Sharif Interconnected estate can also exposed fraud and plagiarism.. which is rampant in many ....
You can see tall buildings with few parking spaces.. maybe somebody use someone's else plan.. blanked off a few storey of planned carpark.. voila.. a cheaper plagiarized building..
I guess most people can see so many infrastructures being built in the country.. but not many of them are being used to the full.. as the originator was not the one who got the job.. the copycats got them all..
In some cases foreigner were called to take care of government's interest.. why.. the originator did not get the job.. the copycat built the infra.. and could not figure out how to successfuly implement the project.. as foreigners have no patriotic feeling for the success of the government's project.. they came , earned their salary and the hell with the success of the project..
Pity the Marhaens..