Tonga Fear Internet Crackdown Featured
Nuku'alofa, 20 October 2015. Tonga's Media Council says the government needs to clarify moves to block selected internet content because of fears people's rights may be infringed upon.
The Council's Pesi Fonua says he is meeting with Crown Law officials to get reassurances that press freedom and freedom of expression will not be affected.
This month, legislation was passed giving a new commission powers to take down a site or connection if a website was disseminating information deemed not good for the community.
The government says the move is designed to protect children from pornography.
However Mr Fonua, who runs the news website Matangi Tonga, says there needs to be more defined lines.
"When they talk about blocking things out, you don't know, they can block anything. With the modern day to day news, whatever news comes through or we want to cover it, you google it or you go in to search for information. There's a whole lot of sites you have to access to find information. If they are going to have that privilege of blocking things, you can imagine there is going to be a problem."
3 comments
-
Democracy seeks equality in liberty. Socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.(Alexis Tocqueville)
-
Who is Min. Siaosi Sovaleni to decide what is moral and immoral for my children? As a parent, that's my duty; Min. Slavonia's values are immoral for my standards. So why should I trust my children's moral values to such a person?
The media should not trust that censorship will guarantee and spare free speech. Once censorship is granted, it's like pregnancy: There's no almost or little pregnancy. Therefore, there's no little or harmless censorship: there's only harmful censorship.
Government's job is to facilitate public's access to educational and business opportunities, not to restrict, or create barriers (censorship). Government's responsibilities are to protect public safety, security (military & police), and guarantees liberty including free speech (free from censorship).
The Internet should be free and promoted to grow instead of regulated to discourage its usage; it should be the privilege of all Tongans to have access to the Internet because educational opportunities are now required by higher learning institutes worldwide. It should not be the privilege of the rich to have Internet for educational and business sakes only.
Censorship is never a good idea; government cannot decide what is appropriate and not appropriate for the public. Protecting "moral values" are individual responsibilities.
As in the Australian 2007 experiment, the "filtering" technology is flawed, because children may not get pornography from Websites, but they can get it from friends and the black market sent directly to their smart-phones. -
Ko Siaina foki 'oku block peheni e social media ia pea mo e google, ko e youtube, pea 'oku sai e block me'a ia a Siaina he 'oku nau faingamalie. Ka ko kitautolu, ko e block block koe 'ai pea block ha website ia 'e to mai ai ha silini. 'Ikai fai pe me'a 'a e pakupaku ko e hekapasese kae toe 'ai ia ke lomi tepi