A new law meant to shield the people of Singapore from "fake news" goes into effect tomorrow, to the concern of some who believe it will stifle free speech and give unwarranted power to the government.
The Southeast Asian city-state's bill itself reads that it is intended "to prevent the electronic communication in Singapore of false statements of fact, to suppress support for and counteract the effects of such communication, to safeguard against the use of online accounts for such communication and for information manipulation," and give the government the power to decide on other "related matters."
The law forbids the dissemination in Singapore—whether within the country or remotely—of statements the government determines to be false and believes are liable to threaten the nation's national security, threaten the well-being of the public or "incite feelings of enmity, hatred or ill‑will between different groups of persons."
It also prohibits the spread of false information in Singapore that may influence the outcomes of elections or harm the public's trust in the government's ability to perform its duty.
Under the new law, online media outlets, including social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, will be forced to issue corrections and remove content that the Singaporean government determines to be untrue, according to Reuters.
The bill also gives the government the authority to order technology companies to block accounts that spread false information, according to the Singaporean-based newspaper, The Straits Times.
The Straits Times also reported that it will be the government's prerogative to demonstrate why something is false or "fake news," not the duty of the accused to demonstrate why the statements they shared was correct.
Members of the People's Action Party (PAP), Singapore's ruling political party, have argued that the law is necessary because of the city-state's position as a "global financial hub, its mixed ethnic and religious population and widespread internet access," according to Reuters.
The law contains provisions allowing people convicted of printing falsehoods the right to expedited appeals with court fees starting at $200, The Straits Times reports.
In response to concerns about the costliness of making appeals, Singapore's Minister for Law and Home Affairs, K. Shanmugam, told a crowd at an event for lawyers in April that the government wanted to make appealing violations of the law "fast and relatively inexpensive."
Malaysia, Singapore's closest neighbor, passed legislation to combat "fake news" last year. It was met with similar concerns from press freedom activists and politicians from the opposition party, according to the South China Morning Post.
