The island state of Singapore is known for its government's sometimes heavy-handed efforts to maintain social order and stability, Now it has taken the lead with fake news. New and controversial laws have been passed giving the government sweeping powers to get rid of it.
Since its unveiling last month, the new Law has attracted increasing criticism from many sources since, it has been claimed, it amounts to a threat to freedom of expression. The law permits access to apps like one of the most popular in Singapore, WhatsApp.The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation bill was passed by lawmakers on Wednesday and will come into force in the next few weeks.
The government can now order platforms to remove what it deems to be false statements that are "against the public interest", and to post corrections.
Authorities say the bill protects citizens from fake news.
But critics say it poses a serious threat to civil liberties.
It is also unclear how it could be enforced in some instances, such as policing content in encrypted apps.
The government has emphasised that the law would not be used to target opinions, but only falsehoods that could prove damaging.
"Free speech should not be affected by this bill," Law Minister K Shanmugam told parliament, adding that the law is aimed at tackling "falsehoods, bots, trolls, and fake accounts".
It bans the spread of what the government decides are false statements against the public interest. A person found guilty of doing this in Singapore could be fined heavily and/or jailed for up to five years.
It also bans the use of fake accounts or bots to spread fake news - this carries penalties of up to S$1m (£563,000, $733,700) and a jail term of up to 10 years.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48196985On Tuesday, a minister said in parliament that the private nature of such apps meant they were "ideal platforms" for the spread of falsehoods as they could be hidden from public view, and noted that they could reach "hundreds or thousands of strangers at a time".
"Closed platforms, chat groups, social media groups, can serve as a public megaphone as much as an open platform," said Senior Minister of State for Law Edwin Tong . . .
Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, called the idea of the Singapore government policing private chats "frankly insane".
"This is really moving towards a Big Brother style of control and censorship project," he told the BBC. "It's a direct threat to freedom of expression and is something the entire world should be alarmed about.
Singapore has always gone its own way. In Lee Kuan Yew's day, the moment a newspaper or magazine criticised him it was slapped with a heavy lawsuit which he generally won. What the rest of the world thinks of this fake news ban is unlikely to have any effect! Not surprisingly, Singapore is ranked #151 out of 180 countries in this year's World Press Freedom Index.