In view of its live stream of Parliament proceedings — the first time in Singapore — the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) on Monday (4 January) released a set of terms and conditions in relation to the stream, which includes a prohibition of use for “satire, ridicule or denigration”.
The definitions for satire, ridicule, and denigration, however, are not specified.
All or parts of the video, as well as screenshots and images, fall under Government-owned copyright. However, the public is granted a ‘non-exclusive license’ to use the recordings of the proceedings for free if conditions of responsible use are complied with.
The ‘non-exclusive license’ extends to personal use, internal use within an organisation, for research, analysis or study, and for “fair and accurate” reporting of parliamentary proceedings.
The terms also specifically stipulate that “the use of the materials shall respect and maintain the dignity” of the Singapore Parliament and past and present members of the House.
The terms also state that the video and any materials derived from it are not to be used commercially or for financial gain, nor can it be used in a context that promotes or encourages illegal activity or anti-social behaviour. It is also not allowed to be used to communicate falsehood and misinformation.
Further, the materials cannot be used to promote or foster feelings of enmity between groups on the grounds of race, religion, descent, place of birth, office, profession, or trade.
On top of all that, MCI has the discretion to determine whether anyone has breached these terms. If the Ministry finds that the terms have been breached by a party, permission for them to use the materials automatically ceases, and they will have to immediately stop non-compliant use of the materials as well as comply with MCI’s relevant directions.
What these directions may be, however, were not outlined by the Ministry.
Beyond that, use of the materials will also give rise to an agreement that if a third party brings a claim against the government due to a person or organisation’s failure to comply with these terms, that person or organisation is liable for damages, loss, costs, and expenses that might be incurred.