The Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts has appointed Mr Goh Yew Lin, Chairman of Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and Deputy Chairman of Singapore Symphonia Company Ltd as the Chairman of the Censorship Review Committee (CRC) 2009.
 
2          Sixteen others representing a cross-section of the society have been appointed as members of the committee. They include people from the arts and media sector; the community and social sector; and various professions. (The list of the 17 members is attached at Annex.)
 
3          On his appointment, Mr Goh, who is also the Managing Director of GK Goh Holdings Ltd, said: “I’m honoured to lead the new CRC.  We have been given a very challenging responsibility to find an appropriate balance in our national censorship policies.  The issues are complex. Some of them may prove contentious, but I am grateful that we have been able to assemble a diverse team of respected and capable individuals who will bring perspectives from many aspects of Singapore society.  I look forward to our deliberations over the coming months.”
 
4          The independent CRC has been set up to conduct a mid-term review of content issues across the spectrum of broadcast, films, videos, publications, audio materials, the arts and new media.  The CRC will look largely at issues that have been raised by the industry players during their regular dialogues with MDA and from community feedback. These include the fine-tuning of current film and video classifications; sale and distribution of videos; and content issues related to entertainment and lifestyle publications.  The review will also examine how media convergence is testing traditional content regulation concepts and whether new content codes are necessary to guide the emergence of new technologies and new media platforms.
 
5          The Terms of Reference of the committee are:
 
(i)         To recommend refinements to existing content standards and guidelines to reflect societal and technological changes since the last CRC, while recognising the need to protect the young and respect racial, religious and social sensitivities;
 
(ii)        To study whether there is a need to introduce additional content standards and guidelines that would be relevant to the emergence of new technologies and new media platforms;
 
(iii)       To recommend ways to encourage industry players, community and artists to be involved in co-regulation of media content and classification; and
 
(iv)       To recommend avenues to improve community engagement and public education in content standards and guidelines.
 
6          The CRC will seek feedback from the industry players and members of the public through focus group discussions. It will also be setting up a CRC website for the people to give feedback to the committee.
 
7          The committee will target to complete the review and submit its report and recommendations to the Government by mid 2010.

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