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As the Government was committed to upholding the freedom to information and expression, the spokesman said the working group had proposed only materials transmitted on the World Wide Web sites and newsgroups should be regulated. Personal communications such as electronic mails would be excluded.
To tie in with the spirit in COIAO which bans obscene materials but not indecent ones that require special publication arrangements, it is proposed that access to sites of obscene materials should be blocked altogether. Access to sites of indecent materials however should only be made available with a personal identification number.
As regards complaints of any objectionable or offensive materials transmitted on the Internet, the spokesman said they could be directed to the industry body to be set up for investigation and action.
"If it is established that the complaint is justified, the industry body would instruct all ISPs to block their users from accessing the sites. Sites should be blocked as long as the obscene materials remain available," he said.
On the question of who should determine whether a piece of material is obscene, indecent, or neither, the working group has suggested two options:
the industry body could submit the material in question to the Obscene Articles Tribunal (OAT) for classification; this is in line with the existing policy and practice and would ensure that a consistent standard is applied; or
the industry body will decide, with the help of some guidelines drawn from the standards adopted by OAT, whether the material in question is acceptable.
The Government will be meeting ISPs representatives on July 18 to explain the proposals to them. Views from the industry and interested parties will be taken into account before the proposals are finalised.
The Legislative Council Panel on Recreation and Culture will also be informed of the content of the consultation paper at its next meeting to be held towards the end of July.
The consultation paper can be obtained from the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Branch, 41st floor, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Hong Kong, or from the Government Homepage on the Internet (http://www.info.gov.hk/).
Comments and views may also be sent to the Branch by fax 2511 1458 or by E- mail, [email protected], before August 10.
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