Debate rages over Singapore demand for ISP user names

Debate continues in Singapore over a recent legal case where a charity sought a court order to order Internet service providers (ISPs) to name users who had forwarded an e-mail that had defamed the charity.

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) already has won an apology and S$50,000 (about HK$226,000) in damages from Tan Kiat Noi, who had written an e-mail from her office account criticising the NKF.

Her e-mail included statements that employees received overly high bonuses, and urged people not to donate money to the NKF.

NKF won its defamation case against Ms Tan partly because the e-mails had been forwarded to thousands of users, but the victory implied that private e-mails could be treated as public statements.

NKF also is demanding ISPs name subscribers who viewed and sent on the e-mail, raising the threat that they also may be sued.

One letter writer to the Straits Times said that while some users took their malicious or off-colour remarks too far, he cautioned against over-control.