Singapore Broadcast Law

Question 1

What are the guidelines for Singapore broadcast license?

Answer 1

• Singapore broadcast requires a license
• Any conditions can be imposed on the license
• -> Eg. broadcast frequency, language used, programming, pay deposit
• Minister can make “directions as he thinks fit”
• -> Eg. taking control in a public emergency, censorship
• Licensee can be fined
• License can be cancelled, suspended, modified

Question 2

Who has ownership of the Singapore broadcast?

Answer 2

• SG broadcasters not subject to newspapers’ management shareholder scheme
• Mediacorp is government-owned
• -> By Temasek Holdings, the government holding company
• Foreign ownership requires special approval

Question 3

What is Singapore’s programme code?

Answer 3

• Called ‘Code of Practice’
• Licensees must follow IMDA “codes of practice” for:
• -> Radio
• -> Free-to-air & subscription TV
• -> Video on demand
• -> TV & radio advertising
• Fines for violation of code

Question 4

What are the guidelines for US broadcast license?

Answer 4

• Licensing is a prior restraint
• Broadcast frequency is licensed because:
• -> Government must be traffic cop
• -> Electromagnetic spectrum is publicly owned
• New tech is complicating the image but this is the basic argument

Question 5

What is broadcast indecency in the US?

Answer 5

• Material that depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities
• In a manner patently offensive
• Measured by contemporary community standards
• For broadcast medium

Question 6

Why regulate broadcast indecency in the US?

Answer 6

Why regulate it?

Broadcasting uniquely is:

• -> Pervasive (all around us)
• -> Intrusive (don’t choose when to hear it)
• -> Accessible to children (those who can’t read can hear it too)

Question 7

How is broadcast indecency regulated in the US?

Answer 7

How it is regulated:

• Bleep censored
• “Time, place, & manner” regulations for free-to-air broadcasts: 10pm – 6am safe harbour – indecency is ok
• Citizen must complain to Federal Communications Commission

Question 8

What are the penalties for broadcast indecency in the US?

Answer 8

Penalties:

• Fines (NOT prison)
• Licence revoked

Question 9

What does broadcast indecency in the US applies to?

Answer 9

Applies to:
- Only applied to free-to-air TV

• Not applied to cable, satellite, streaming TV
• -> Instead, industry self-regulation for these broadcasts
  - Industry has agreed-upon standards
  - No legal penalties for violating industry standards
• Obscenity law applies to free-to-air TV regardless of medium
• -> All types of TV
• -> Prosecutions rare