Buzz Marketing with Blogs: Blogs as Sedition

Blogs as Sedition

While in Singapore with Paul Chaney to conduct the BLOGasia corporate blogging conference, blogging hit the news. Singapore arrested two bloggers and charged them with sedition, specifically with posting racist comments on their personal blogs. The tone of the conference definitely reflected this bit of news – attendees at BLOGasia were exceedingly concerned with controlling the dialogue on their blogs, moderating comments, and keeping the topic of a blog focused in a particular direction. It was frustrating, as a U.S.-centric blogger, to realize that for these folks, free speech doesn’t exist, at least as we conceive of it. Of course, I knew this intellectually, but reading the news and talking with citizens of Singapore and Malaysia really drove the point home. The rules are different over there.

I sat down today to write up a summary of what happened in Singapore, and to note a move on the part of Malaysian bloggers to reporter readers who have left racist comments on their blogs to authorities. However, I’ve discovered a blog that does a much better job than I could do in covering the issues: Global Voices Online, the work of a global citizens’ media group, sponsored by the Berman Center for Internet and Society and the Harvard Law School. These folks have got the world covered when it comes to bloggers and the law!

Rush over right now and read the posts on Global Voices Online about Singapore and Malaysia.

So, this post ultimately has two purposes – to let readers know about these disturbing cases in Singapore and Malaysia, and to refer you to Global Voices Online, if the legal ramifications of blogging are a concern for you.

Incidentally, I think it’s worth noting that most of the blogs that are involved in legal cases resulting from libel, copyright infringement, sedition or racism, are personal blogs – not business blogs. Frankly, blogs about women’s health or lawn care simply aren’t likely to hit those push-button topics that get people really worked up.

And, just in case you are a U.S.-based blogger who thinks you’ve gotten off scot-free, don’t miss this Red Herring article “Bloggers Face the Law.” Things may not be quite as rosy as you imagine. For good measure, I’ll throw a link in here to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Legal Guide for Bloggers.

Posted by Susannah Gardner on 09/27 at 10:42 AM • Blogs -- Law and Ethics