Mar 31, 2012

Singapore - Have netizens gone too far with "keyboard vigilantism"?


Identify and shame.

The modus operandi of the online lynch mob.

Hours after news broke that a Changi General Hospital doctor Ivan Ngeow had pleaded guilty to exposing himself to a female undergraduate while dressed as a schoolgirl, personal photos of him with his wife and their child had made its rounds on the Internet.

So have personal photos of Nanyang Polytechnic student Lai Shimun, who had posted a racist tweet about a certain ethnic group.

Now, the hunt is on for another blogger who goes by the name of Stanley Hart.

In his blog post, he had defended Miss Lai and made further derogatory comments about the ethnic group.

The recent online witch-hunt of individuals whom netizens deemed to have done wrong has put the spotlight on Internet vigilantism.

The phenomenon is more popular in China, where it is used by netizens to expose corrupt officials and their extravagant lifestyles, said Dr Liew Kai Khiun, assistant professor from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University.

He added that in Singapore, the first highly publicised case of what he calls "keyboard vigilantism" was the backlash received by a Raffles Junior College student's elitist remarks in 2006.

He said: "It is a new way of shaming that lies outside the traditional public sphere of institutions involved."

Singapore Management University social media expert Michael Netzley felt that the act of exposing the identity of individuals online was a "very arrogant behaviour".

He said: "We should never confuse this behaviour with something more noble such as a genuine act of whistle-blowing.

"Instead, the outing of people on the Internet is like having an anonymous person acting as judge, jury and executioner (all) at once. That can never be a good thing."

Sense of balance

While one should express disapproval when something is wrong, said Ms Indranee Rajah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar GRC, there must always be a sense of "proportionality, balance and moderation".

She added that although the comments by Miss Lai were hurtful and uncalled for, she had apologised and removed those remarks.

"It must have been a hard lesson for her," said Ms Rajah, who is also the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Information, Communications and the Arts.

"If you did something wrong, and are apologetic, we should give some allowance for that." So at what point does Internet vigilantism cross the line?

The rule of thumb, said MPs and social media experts, is to put yourself in the person's shoes and ask whether you would want to be treated in the same manner if the same thing had happened to you.

And it is not right to drag relatives of the person involved into the equation, or cause the person involved to be exposed to physical harm.

Said Dr Liew: "I hope netizens aren't demanding for collective guilt from people associated to the person responsible for any incident.

"What applies in the real world should apply to cyberspace. You should have decorum, hold yourself well with respect for others."

Given the amount of information being circulated online, Mr Baey Yam Keng, MP for Tampines GRC and deputy chairman of the GPC for Information, Communications and the Arts, felt that there is a need to educate people to analyse the information and not just take it at face value.

He pointed out that the online comments only represent the views of a segment of the population and people need to take into consideration the offline comments in order to get a better perspective of the issues at hand.

National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser and tech lawyer Bryan Tan, a director of Keystone Law Corporation, also raised the concern that innocent persons may be unwittingly implicated and targeted by netizens.

Lawyer Bryan Tan said that a defamation suit could possibly arise if the information posted is wrong or if there are multiple persons with the same name, resulting in the wrong person being targeted.

He said: "Are the person's family fair game? Once you cross it, it could be too late and the damage is done. It could mean someone's career is gone or the family is broken. Worst still if it was a case of mistaken identity."

Said Prof Tan: "My view is that whether online or offline, one should not falsely accuse anyone, or convict someone without concrete evidence.

"Netizens should police themselves and provide checks and balances to moderate extreme responses and counter abuses and unfair treatment."

What MPs, experts say

Ms Indranee Rajah, Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC and chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Information, Communications and the Arts

"At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself this question: how would you like to be treated if you were in their shoes?"

Mr Baey Yam Keng, MP for Tampines GRC and deputy chairman of the GPC for Information, Communications and the Arts

"People need to learn to discern and make their own judgment about information online, and without haste, in sharing the information."

National University of Singapore sociologist Tan Ern Ser

"How sure are they that the people whom they consider to be villains are not innocent victims subjected to unfair treatment?"

Singapore Management University social media expert Michael Netzley on phenomenon of Internet vigilantism

" The act of outing (the individual) is worse than the original crime which was committed."

Lediati Tan and Daryl Yam
The New Paper
AsiaOne



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