Oh wait a minute, this new group has name itself as the Community of Information Technology Experts (CITE). Fanciful...but quite a catchy name, I must say.
You can learn more about CITE here. Partially quoted:
The Community of Information Technology Experts (CITE) is a non-profit volunteer group that aims to inform Singapore online users of their rights and responsibilities with the larger goal of encouraging greater use of the Internet. CITE is launched on 22 September 2010.
Some of the formidable members of the group:
The members in CITE are well known figures in the technology and law of the online world. Besides corporate lawyers, the members also include academics from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU).
They include former Nominated Member of Parliament Mr Siew Kum Hong, a corporate counsel specialising in Internet and technology law; Mr Wong Siew Hong, Director of Infinitus Law, with extensive experience in civil and criminal litigation; technology law and intellectual property law expert, Visiting Professor Lim Yee Fen from the Faculty of Law, NUS; and Mr Bryan Tan, Director of Keystone Corporation, one of the leading individuals in IT and telecoms law, who had handled the world's first mass e-mail defamation case and registrar-level domain name dispute.
And here are the press release:
An informal group has been formed in Singapore to help netizens understand their rights and responsibilities on the Internet.
The purpose is to get people to think before shooting off that email, tweet, blog or Facebook post.
It is easy to have a voice on the Internet today. With social networking sites and blogs, one can broadcast worldwide what one thinks in a few seconds.
But a seemingly harmless rant could end up with serious consequences.
Just this year, a parent started a blog as a platform for others to discuss school matters. But the school viewed the comments contributed as defamatory.
In another case, a food blogger, Kaelyn Ong, was threatened with legal action in October last year for an unflattering review of a cake shop in Joo Chiat.
So a group of 20 IT and cyber law professionals has decided to form the Community of Information Technology Experts (CITE).
Professor Ang Peng Hwa, director, Singapore Internet Research Centre, Nanyang Technological University, said: "We are forming this group to give information to individuals and small companies about the rights that they have on cyberspace - that means what they can do and what they cannot do on the Internet."
Though the group does not give legal advice, it provides basic information on Singapore Internet law such as copyright, trademark issues and defamation.
Anyone who has doubts on what he or she may post on the Internet could send queries to the CITE website.
Bryan Ghows, director, TSMP Law Corporation, said: "We simply like to help the community, the public, at least understand what rules sort of govern the Internet usage in Singapore because a lot of the laws you read are very US-specific, which are not applicable in Singapore.
"So setting out at least the foundation for what applies in Singapore is pretty important to us."
CITE members also include academics from the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University.
From Channel NewsAsia, "Group formed to help netizens understand their rights on Internet".
