Legislation

Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, at least in its current form, is “vague” and “inconsistent” with international legal standards, said the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). In an open letter to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy Prime Ministers Teo Chee Hean and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Law Minister K. Shanmugam, and Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin on 12 Apr, ICJ’s …

Back in 2015, TOC found itself fighting legal battle the Ministry of Defence over a report published about events that transpired between the company of Dr Ting Choon Meng, MobileStats Pte Ltd, and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF). In the report published by TOC, Dr Ting recounted the sequence of events which transpired, alleging that MINDEF had infringed on his …

Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, which was introduced in Parliament for its First Reading earlier this month, is expected to come into effect within the second half of 2019, according to Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday (15 Apr), Mr Iswaran said: “We expect to have a Second …

The introduction of the controversial Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill in the Singapore Parliament on 1 Apr has sparked numerous debates and discussions regarding what many media practitioners and civil rights groups have deemed to be an overreaching legislation. Despite such criticisms and concerns, however, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, has defended the Government’s rationale behind the proposed …

Singapore’s new anti-“fake news” legislation, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, “entrenches and legalizes censorship in all forms”, warns local civil society group Function 8. In its statement on Facebook on Wed (10 Apr), Function 8 stressed that the proposed Act, once enacted and enforced, “will adversely affect every person (Singaporean or foreigner), and every social or business …

TOC recently interviewed Dr Paul Ananth Tambyah, chairperson of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) to get his opinion on the proposed “Protection against Online Falsehoods and Manipulation” bill, its impact on freedom of speech, whistle-blowing, and the need for the bill in the first place. Dr Paul’s viewpoint on the fake news legislation is that it is detrimental for several …

The draft of Singapore’s new ‘Fake News’ law is out. The Protection From Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) was proposed in Parliament on 1 April as a means to combat the spread of false and/or misleading information online – which undoubtedly has become a major issue as the world enters a new level of connectedness via the internet. Among …

Multiple debates and criticisms have sprung regarding the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill following its introduction in Parliament on Monday (1 Apr), including those concerning the legal costs that will possibly be incurred by parties who have been issued Part 3 Directions under Section 17 of the proposed Act. Speaking at a forum held at the Singapore Management …

The Ministry of Law has lambasted international non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW)’s highly critical statement against the introduction of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill on Monday (1 Apr), branding HRW’s statement “part of its longstanding practice of issuing biased and one-sided statements about Singapore”. HRW’s deputy director for Asia Phil Robertson, according to the NGO’s statement …

Despite Law Minister K. Shanmugam’s assurance that the Protection From Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill does not “deal with opinions” or “viewpoints”, and that Singaporeans “can have whatever viewpoints however reasonable or unreasonable”, media practitioners and civil rights organisations have expressed concern over the introduction of the Bill in Parliament on Mon (1 Apr). Kirsten Han, editor-in-chief of Southeast Asian …