Singapore’s anti-fake news law takes effect

Illustrative image (Photo: The New Paper)
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, passed in May by the Singapore parliament, stipulates that individuals can be fined up to 100,000 SGD (72,100 USD) or jailed up to 10 years, or both, while companies can be slapped with fines of up to 1 million SGD.

The law requires online platforms — including social networking, search engine and news aggregation services — to issue corrections or remove content that the government deems false.

The government can also order internet or intermediary service providers to block access to offending websites or be fined up to 20,000 USD each day, or up to a maximum of 500,000 USD.

Google, Facebook and Twitter will be given temporary exemptions to issue the required corrections in line with Singapore’s law.

The Singaporean government said the law is needed to protect Singapore's security, public safety and its relations with foreign countries, as well as to prevent outside influence on the outcome of political elections./.

VNA