South Korean blogger shorts the economy, gets arrested
Here we go. A few posts back, I wrote about the global economic downturn, and the probable consequences for Internet regulation. The AP is reporting today that South Korea, one of the most Internet-intensive countries in the world, has arrested a blogger for spreading “false economic information over the Internet” – specifically, for reporting that the South Korean government had ordered the finance sector to stop purchasing U.S. dollars, in order to keep the won from falling against the dollar.
The AP goes on to report that the popular blogger had been a regular critic of the government’s handling of the economy and was self-taught in economics, although he lied online about his credentials.
I’m sure the Asian financial crisis of the late ’90s in still very much in policy-makers’ minds. If anything, the arrest seems to reflect a fear that there are fewer effective policy mechanisms than there were a decade ago.
[...] leave a comment » As reported in today’s WSJ, the United Arab Emirates is passing a new media law which threatens fines against journalists publishing information that “harms the economy.” Fake Plastic Souks has a good roundup of local media reaction, and points out that the new law seems to omit any reference to blogging, Twittering, YouTube, or any other online channel. But one doesn’t have to be a committed cynic to think that the UAE is likely to adopt a broad interpretation of “media,” given the precedent recently set in South Korea. [...]
Outlawing shorts in the UAE « Radical Instrument
January 23, 2009 at 3:48 am
[...] leave a comment » As reported in today’s WSJ, the United Arab Emirates is passing a new media law which threatens fines against journalists publishing information that “harms the economy.” Fake Plastic Souks has a good roundup of local media reaction, and points out that the new law seems to omit any reference to blogging, Twittering, YouTube, or any other online channel. But one doesn’t have to be a committed cynic to think that the UAE is likely to adopt a broad interpretation of “media,” given the precedent recently set in South Korea. [...]
Outlawing bears in the UAE « Radical Instrument
January 23, 2009 at 3:51 am