The unprecedented relationship between information and the people symbolized by the emergence of the cell-phone as a compact hand-held device have converged a wide range of media and systems. These include the telephone, the camera, the computer, the satellite, the internet, battery-powered illumination, email, cinema, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, social media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. Such a phenomenon brings forth unparalleled challenges of change as well as an inescapable responsibility for the State.
It is the State system alone which has the legitimacy and the locus stand to maintain vigilance for the protection of the public interest, including the Information sector. Other parts of a society and a country such as civil society, the corporate sector, the media etc., have valuable and valid roles to render in promoting the public interest. Yet at the same time, each of these sectors also has a distinct viewpoint and self-interest, particular to its own identity. Whereas the State alone brings together all of the different segments within a country and is, therefore, best able to provide an over-all, overarching vision and the required institutional framework by which the public interest, inclusive of the Information sector, is equitably represented and can be effectively maintained.
