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'Fake News' Law Goes Into Effect In Singapore, Worrying Free Speech Advocates : NPR
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'Fake News' Law Goes Into Effect In Singapore,
Worrying Free Speech Advocates
October 2, 2019 · 4:32 PM ET
ASHLEY WESTERMAN
Singapore, which is the setting for the hit movie Crazy Rich Asians, has enacted a law against false information that critics
say will stifle public discussion and hamstring journalists.
Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 6:12 p.m. ET
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In Singapore, a law intended to crack down on "fake news" went into effect
Wednesday, much to the dismay of free speech advocates and journalists.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, which passed the
country's parliament in May, requires online platforms — including social networking,
search engine and news aggregation services — to issue corrections or remove content
that the government deems false. Media companies that fail to comply face a fine of up
to a 1 million Singapore dollars (about $722,000).
Individuals found guilty of violating the law, both inside and outside the tiny
Southeast Asian country, could face fines of up to $60,000 or prison for up to 10 years.
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong defended the bill when it passed, calling
it a step in the right direction.
"I don't see our legislation as being in any way restrictive of free speech," Lee said in
May, as quoted by the South China Morning Post. "I see this as a practical
arrangement which will help us to tackle the problem [of fake news]."
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Critics of the law accuse the ruling party, the People's Action Party, of passing the
measure as a preemptive move ahead of elections in March 2020. Lee party has
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'Fake News' Law Goes Into Effect In Singapore, Worrying Free Speech Advocates : NPR
controlled Singapore's government since the city-state located at the tip of the
Malaysian peninsula became fully self-governing in 1959.
Opposition lawmakers and free speech advocates in Singapore and around the region
say the law will stifle public discussion and hamstring journalists in a country they say
is steadily marching further toward authoritarianism.
Kirsten Han, Singapore-based chief editor of the online news site New Naratif, says it's
not yet clear how often the new law will be used.
"But what worries me is that it would likely further entrench the culture of selfcensorship, not just among journalists but among Singaporeans in general," Han tells
NPR in an email.
Kirsten Han
@kixes
韩俐颖
POFMA, the anti-#fakenews legislation which was passed on 8
May, will come into effect in #Singapore tomorrow:
straitstimes.com/politics/fake-… twitter.com/kixes/status/1…
Singapore's fake news law to come into effect Oct 2, Politics …
Politics News -The law was passed in May after more than a year of
public consultation including a Select Committee hearing.. Read
straitstimes.com
Kirsten Han
韩俐颖
@kixes
1/ Okay, let's start a new thread to take things from the top about
#Singapore's #fakenews law, the Protection from Online Falsehoods
and Manipulation Bill, or POFMA.
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'Fake News' Law Goes Into Effect In Singapore, Worrying Free Speech Advocates : NPR
Here's the Bill: parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-s…'
Here's an FAQ that @pjthum and I worked on:
newnaratif.com/research/singa…
9 7:39 AM - Oct 1, 2019
See Kirsten Han 韩俐颖's other Tweets
Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, says in an
email to NPR that the law "provides a carte blanche for Singapore ministers" to take
down any online content they unilaterally deem false regardless of where it appears in
the world.
Freedom of expression in Singapore is increasingly endangered, says Robertson, who
points out that all independent media there is online only. He says Singapore touts
itself as a place of international business and wealth, "but it whitewashes bad news
and persecutes activists and whistleblowers who call the preferred image of Singapore
into question."
Many Southeast Asian countries have similar laws on the books — Cambodia and
Thailand have versions of lèse-majesté laws, while Myanmar has a colonial-era Official
Secrets Act. Last year, Malaysia enacted (and then repealed) a law against fake news,
and this past January, Vietnam enacted a similar law that requires companies such as
Facebook and Google to open offices there.
Governments in the region have justified such laws in the name of preserving national
security, as public policy experts Elvin Ong and Isabel Chew note in the East Asia
Forum.
Responding to Singapore's law, Google told Reuters that the measure "could stunt
innovation, a quality that the city-state wants to nurture under plans to expand its tech
industry." Meanwhile, Facebook has expressed concern that the law could "grant
broad powers to the Singapore executive branch," according to Reuters.
Facebook, Google and Twitter all have their Asia headquarters in Singapore.
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'Fake News' Law Goes Into Effect In Singapore, Worrying Free Speech Advocates : NPR
Correction
Oct. 2, 2019
A previous version of this story said 1 million Singapore dollars converts to 72.2 million U.S. dollars but the
correct U.S. figure is $722,000.
fake news
singapore
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