The Information Minister said that the amendments to the Broadcasting Act is to cater to new technologies in broadcasting including the use of satellites.
At this age of rapid and even revolutionary changes in Information Technology, especially with the new trend in digital convergence and the ability to transfer information and data at lightning speeds, it is foolhardy for anyone to claim that he fully understood and could cater to these new technologies - and this is why the failure to involve the widest public participation in formulating laws to deal with these changes in the field of Information Technology is most unfortunate.
Let me quote from Don Tapscott from his book, the Digital Economy, to indicate the shape of things to come as a result of the revolutionary changes taking place in broadcasting as a result of digital convergence:
“One of the most important shifts enabled by digital technology is, of course, the shift to interactivity. To date, much of the discussion has been about shifting from broadcasting to narrow casting and may have missed the point. The future won’t be about ‘casting’ at all.
“In the future, it will be the customer, not the broadcaster, who will do the ‘casting’ -- the searching and accessing of multimedia databases for appropriate information, content, programming and services. This may involve person-to-computer interaction when, for example, a customer accesses a database of television programs, encyclopedia entries, movie listings, or traffic reports. It could also be person-to-person, mediated through the computer; for example, a person sends a piece of video mail that is switched through and stored on a computer. By the end of the decade, consumers will have access to personalized, interactive on-demand services, and random access to anything they want through digital radio and TV as well as through cable and computer networks” (pp228-9)
With regard to the Broadcasting Amendment Bill, can the Information Minister assure the House that the Ministry had considered all its implications especially with reference to the Information Highway - the Internet?
As the “network of networks”, Internet would provide carriage for a wide variety of communication services. At one extreme, it will include the video and audio programme services of today: one-way, non-interactive, mass-audience communications. At the other extreme are the one-to-one text communications and private electronic mail. Between these two poles, there will be a huge variety of other kinds of communication, with varying degrees of interactivity, containing a wide variety of content, and serving users in groups ranging from the millions to a single person.
At what point does something which is intended for general reception on the Internet become broadcasting? What is a broadcast programme? What isn’t? When does a private communication become public’?
Specifically, let me refer to a few of the new definitions in the Broadcasting Amendment Bill.
Section 2 provides a new definition on “broadcasting station” as follows:
(a) by radio waves or sound waves or any other electromagnetic waves, through ether, wire, cable or satellite; and
(b) for reception by the general public -
The new definition of “broadcast matter” will now mean
Section 12 amends the definition of “radio broadcast receiver” as
“Television broadcast receiver” is defined as:
A new Section 4(1) provides:
The broadcasting services specified in the Schedule are as follows:
Reading these provisions, one gets the impression that Internet communications through personal or corporate web pages could fall under the purview of the Broadcasting Amendment Bill, as each website could be categorised as a “broadcast station”, broadcasting “broadcast matter” which required licence from the Ministry for Information.
Furthermore, all newsgroups on the Internet could also fall under the definition of “broadcast station” and Malaysians who contribute to newsgroups or subscribe to them could also come under the definition of broadcasting or receiving “broadcast matter”, and subject to the severe penalties of the Broadcasting Amendment Bill if they do not first get licence from the Information Ministry. The penalties in the amended Bill are most draconian ranging from RM10,000 to RM100,000 fine and three years’ jail for different offences under the Bill!
Is this the intent of the Broadcasting Amendment Bill, to regulate and control the Internet? According to Jaring, there are now 1,167 Malaysian websites. The real figure must be very much higher, as not all Malaysian-related sites have been registered with Jaring. There are also more than 10,000 newsgroups on the Internet.
Any attempt to regulate Internet through the Broadcasting Amendment Bill would stunt the growth of Internet, which would be highly prejudicial to Malaysian development in Information Technology.
Internet Guru, Nicholas Negroponte, in his acclaimed 1995 book ‘Being Digital’ makes the point that while the Internet may be mostly hype today, “it is an understatement about tomorrow. It will exist beyond people’s wildest predictions.” He believed that by the year 2005 Americans will spend more hours on the Internet than watching network television.
Bill Gates, the head of Microsoft whom the Prime Minister is trying to draw to the Multimedia Super Corridor, had said: “Like the PC, the Internet is a tidal wave. It will wash over the computer industry and many others, drowning those who don’t learn to swim in its waves”.
We must be mindful of the revolutionary change in the Digital Age which is inspired by rapidly advancing and converging computer and telecommunications technologies. Every two years, computing power doubles while its price halves.
The Digital Age is about convergence. The borders between what is entertainment and what is news, between what is a software company and what is an entertainment company, bertween education and edutainment are becoming very blurred. The telephone, the television set and the home computer - devices that until recently have been separate - are already interacting. Before long they will offer much common functionality and will eventually become indistinguishable.