Internet Content Regulation in Southeast Asia: Directions

Abstract

The movement of Internet content regulation from telecommunications regulatory regimes into the existing streams of media regulation can be seen all over Southeast Asia — from Australia and Singapore to Vietnam and Laos. This paper examines this movement, comparing regulatory regimes for internet content control in Vietnam, Singapore and Australia. It will show that these countries have moved to integrate internet content regulation within existing media regulatory regimes and that regulation of internet content in countries of widely differing social and political cultures is not as different as may be believed. The regulatory path in a future of converged distribution systems for previously disparate forms of content may, however, force a re-evaluation of existing rationales for media and broadcasting regulation.