M'sian Internet Content Regulation

it alarms me that the m'sian government has said that it intends to regulate
internet content.. and it was mainly sparked by some malicious rumours being
spread by some website.. i do not believe that regulating bloggers like what
our neighbour does is right... this isn't just a question of freedom of
speech..

although i do agree that there is a lot of rubbish and unsubstantiated rumours
being spread about the internet, the solution to this problem isn't
regulation.. as i will explain..

however, i do agree that people who post content online, should be held
accountable for what they say.. just like in the real world.. you're free to
say whatever you want, but the other parties are free to sue you for libel as
well.. so, if the online content proves to be libelous, let the normal court
procedures take over.. sue the party who had published the content, in the
courts.. they can have the content taken down and/or fines levied against the
guilty party... there's no need for government regulation/intervention.. or
do we??

the second problem is with the how.. the government says that it will result
in higher quality of content.. hmm.. it isn't going to stop a random blogger
from posting his/her remarks elsewhere.. or better yet, under some sort of
anonymous account.. how are we ever going to regulate internet content??

in the case of random blogs.. it is technically possible, to trace the source
of the posting, with consent from the various ISP and service providers, down
to a single computer.. however, you still cannot prove who actually posted
the content.. it is currently technically impossible to do that.. to legally
tie a person down to a single computer.. what if it was in a cyber cafe?? and
if you cannot provide the legal link between the perpetrator of the crime and
the crime itself, it may not be easy to deal with it in court..

ah.. so, maybe that's why the government wants to regulate it.. because they
know that the courts would not be able to adequately handle the problem..

is there a better way??

the great firewall of china comes to mind.. it's certainly technically easier
to regulate access to questionable content, than to regulate the posting of
internet content.. however, even this firewall can be defeated with the right
tools and knowledge.. so, it's not an effective way either.. and you don't
want the world to hear of the great m'sian firewall..

technological solutions would not work... legal solutions would not work.. so,
what can we do??

i certainly feel that the only way to stop people from believing in rumours
and hearsay, is simply education.. if you have a well informed public, the
public will be able to discern between fact and fiction.. however, one mans'
fact is another's fiction.. but that's just the reality of the world.. you
can't have everyone believing the same thing and doing the same thing.. we
need variety to survive as a species.. it's the beauty of the human race..
ants are mindless drones.. humans are not (hopefully)..