30 July, 2013
Legal News & Analysis – Asia Pacific – Singapore – TMT
On 1 June 2013, the Media Development Authority ("MDA"), Singapore's media regulator, imposed a new regulatory regime for online news sites which regularly reports on Singapore and have significant reach in readers. This replaces the previous class licence regime applicable to news website, which did not require prior regulatory approval. |
Background
The new regulatory framework has been put into effect on 1 June 2013 by the Broadcasting (Class Licence) (Amendment) Notification 2013, which introduces a new licensing regime for online news sites. In particular, news websites meeting certain criteria will be notified and are required to obtain a licence from the MDA. Notably, this replaces the previous regime which automatically granted class licence to internet content providers for operating online news platform, subject to various licence conditions such as registration with the MDA and payment of licence fees.
Who will be affected?
Under the new licensing regime, the MDA will assess which online news sites will be required to obtain a licence based on the following criteria:
The MDA will issue a formal notification to news sites falling within the above criteria which requires them to obtain a licence under the new regulatory framework. Currently, only 10 news sites (local-based online news platform) have been identified by the MDA that will receive licensing notifications. MDA is currently engaging with the regulated sites on the licence conditions and it is expected that the new licences will take effect between September and October this year.
Key issues under the new regime
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For further information, please contact:
Mark Robinson, Herbert Smith Freehills