- Memorandum
- DATE: Oct 22, 2013
- TO: The President of The Republic Of United States
- FROM:
- RE: Implementation of Effective Policy to Control Social Media Abuse From Singapore
- Technology advancement has facilitated improved communication through the internet and social sites. As Asian-American, I understand that the lives at risk are not only in Singapore but also in the United States whereby this is a matter of infection from one region to the other and social media connects people from all over the world. Despite embracing the opportunities and the significance of the new technology, cases of abuses have increased rapidly in the social media. Twitter and Facebook have the advantage of user majority and amongst the busy users of these social media platforms are pedophiles and perverts, in their awful business of abusing the innocent and the young. Amazingly, social media platforms were recently developed and seldom has majority reached the age of four years since, yet everything has basis on the contemporary media. Albeit indicating an effective communication and marketing tool for businesses and other institutions, social media has led to increased crimes and contributed towards unethical actions to the society.
- The policy makers in different countries have failed to implement the effective policy measures to fight against or deal with the increased cases of cybercrime and especially in social media. According to a report by Norton (2012), 72% of adults online in Singapore are victims of cyber crime once or twice in their lifetime with 48% being victims in 2011. A similar report provided by the Symantec Corporation (2011) indicated that 80% of the internet users in Singapore had experienced or were victims of cybercrime. My concern is that none of the American citizens falls onto this trap of the cybercrimes happening in different regions. The preliminary aim of writing the memorandum was to recommend of a strategy that can be used in reducing the increased rate of cybercrimes in relevance to Singapore since it is perceived as one of the nations embracing the new technology at a high rate and the region has been reported to have more crimes involving the social media especially for the youth (Skoric & Poor, 2013). The opinion is based on how different focus groups and governments need to come together in order to ensure that the issue of increased cybercrime especially the increased cases of abuse through social media. This is a delicate matter threatening at a supersonic speed and needs the concern from different parties.
- The report by INTERPOL in Singapore indicated that the country is rated number four in the world for increased cybercrimes and these cases are expected to increase (Hee Jhee, 2013). The country holds a distinctive position in terms of embracing the use of internet whereby 106.2% of its population having access to broadband internet and the mobile penetration is rated to be 151.4% of its population. The government of Singapore has made efforts in order to regulate the use of social media platforms as a means of seeking whether they can reduce the cybercrimes being reported in the country in daily basis (Rodan, 1998).
- Cybercrimes are negatively affecting peoples’ lives and this need to be put under investigation and control in order to ensure that the new technology is embraced appropriately and serves the intended purpose. Singapore is not the only country affected by the problem of cybercrime or abuse through social media but is amongst the leading countries in terms of influence by the effect of increased abuse through the media. Through supporting the government of Singapore to establish and reinforce policies for fighting abuse via social media, the contributors will have done a remarkable job that will be remembered by different groups and individuals.
- However, statistics from the Norton (2012) report have indicated that Singapore has incurred fewer losses from cybercrime cases as compared to China and India who lost $46 billion and $8 billion respectively. Together we should make the world a safe place not only for the current generation but also for the future generations to come. My belief as a citizen who has embraced and started enjoying the new technology is that it should be used for the right purpose. Governments in different regions have the obligation of considering the matter and discussing it to determine the most effective solution that can be applied in order to ensure that people lives are not made miserable by gang of idle minds who are determined to erode the ethical aspects that our society holds. The most annoying bit of the cybercrime cases is that those who fall victims are the innocent and the young. The obligation of the government is to address any issue of concern that emerges and threatens the lives of the citizens through applying the appropriate measures in dealing with the situation.
- The reason why different governments have to intervene in order to address the issue of increasing cybercrimes is due to the fact that the problem concerns the whole world. Given the fact that Singapore is rated as the region with increased cases of cybercrime, dealing with the problem from the roots will easily eliminate the problem rather than considering implementing measures to protect other regions yet the roots of the problem have not been dealt with. Practically, if one needs to eliminate a certain plant and its chances of re-establishment, the simplest way is to eliminate it through cutting the roots or uprooting it and not the stem.
- Therefore, despite the efforts that the government of the United States will implement in protecting cybercrimes from advancing, if the problem is not effectively dealt with in Singapore and other regions where it is deep rooted, the other countries will still feel the pinch of the problem unless international intervention is done to contain the situation. For instance, the manner in which the American and other governments are concerned with formation of any nuclear weapons by any country, the same should apply to eliminate the cases of cybercrime else they are all global problems. My main question is, should the American government just sit and watch its citizens being affected by cybercrimes from Singapore under the argument that it is not fair to intervene in internal affairs of the country? Absolutely not. Addressing the issue from Singapore will facilitate enough prevention measures against the increase of such crimes.
- Moreover, it is important to investigate the matter as early as possible before it reaches the optimum stage and control it whereby those involved should be brought to vengeance such that this serves as an example to the rest of the persons participating in similar activities. Singapore needs the help of different nations in order to ensure that the matter is investigated and dealt with accordingly before issues are out of hand. The United States is one of the nations required to facilitate ideas and solutions in order to ensure that the government of Singapore is in a position of fighting these case of cybercrimes. Considering the fact that the issue or the influence is mostly affecting the young generation in the region and in other regions, the future of these young and innocent children lies on the efforts of the governments of the countries involved to provide a measure and regulate the use of internet as well as social sites in order to address the issue appropriately. Moreover, addressing the matter set a strong foundation for dealing with similar cases in the future and turn the social media into a more useful tool rather than being tapped to support unethical cases.
- My recommendation and contribution as a concerned American citizen is that the international bodies regulating the use of internet need to call for conferences with government representatives from the security departments in order to have their ideas channeled into finding a solution for regulating the increased cybercrimes in different regions. A policy needs to be formulated and implemented which will control the international use of the social media whereby responsible persons will be brought to justice. Neither should the law nor the policy be ordinary, but it should impose severe punishment for those found guilty so that their counterparts learn the lesson. Considering the current situation in Singapore, if an immediate action is not taken, then the cases will continue to grow day by day. The government of Singapore has a stake in ensuring that the country implements the right measures to fight the cases of abuse which are happening occasionally (Lee, 2005). Most importantly, the support from the other governments or sectors will facilitated the much required effort to cease the immorality before it is greatly evident in other parts.
- Through setting or formulating the policy which will control the use of internet the problem of cybercrimes will reduce significantly especially in regard to abuse through social media. The more the increase in users, the more people with evil minds increase in the social network. Symantec report, (2011) also indicated that only 10% of the cyber crimes are reported whereby only 2% of the reported cases have faced successful prosecution. The other consideration to be taken in place is that the teams developing and controlling social media platforms need to come up with strategies to ensure that they can trace users who violate the set rules and policies of communication and provide information to the security departments so that such cases are dealt with accordingly.
- This should be a requirement stipulated in the law. Although the government is the key player in facilitating the security of individuals in the media, efforts from the public groups as well as parents and guardians are also required since the matter can go to an extend of being declared a national disaster where focus from different groups will be essential in facilitating the required support. The government of the United States of America has a role to play in supporting Singapore in implementing the right measures to fight abuse through social media since the regulatory implementation in America has reduced such cases (Internet Watch Foundation sees self-regulation victory, 2004)
- References
- Hee Jhee, J. (2013). Cyber Crime in Singapore: An Analysis of Regulation based on Lessig's four Modalities of Constraint. International Journal Of Cyber Criminology, 7(1), 18- 27.
- Internet Watch Foundation sees self-regulation victory. (2004). New Media Age, 5.
- Lee, T. (2005). Internet Control and Auto-regulation in Singapore. Surveillance & Society, 3(1), 74-95.
- Norton. (2012). Norton Crime Report. Available from http://now-<span< a="">> static.norton.com/now/en/pu/images/Promotions/2012/cybercrimeReport/2012_Norto n_Cybercrime_Report_Master_FINAL_050912.pdf
- Rodan, G. (1998). The Internet and political control in Singapore. Political Science Quarterly, 113(1), 63.
- Skoric, M. M., & Poor, N. (2013). Youth Engagement in Singapore: The Interplay of Social and Traditional Media. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 57(2), 187-204.
- Symantec Corporation. (2011). Norton Cybercrime Report 2011. Retrieved 18 Apr, 2012, from: http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/home_homeoffice/html/cybercrimereport
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