SINGAPORE, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A new bill designed to combat falsehood on the Internet was tabled here in the parliament Monday, which might enable the Singaporean government to ask the online sites reporting fake news to correct or take down relevant information.
Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill was put forward by the country's Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam for first reading.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Law, falsehoods refer to statements of fact which are false or misleading, while opinion, criticism, satire or parody is not included.
Any individual or organization spreading fake news on the Internet harmful to the public interest may be required to "correct" or "take down" the news.
The bill defines public interest as areas concerning the country's security, the protection of public health, finances and safety, the maintenance of friendly relations with foreign countries as well as the country's elections.
Dispelling concerns that the new bill might hurt the freedom of speech, Shanmugam said in a press briefing that the bill is targeted at false statement of fact, not opinions. Moreover, it is not the government, but the court, who has "the final say" on whether there is a falsehood, he added.
The bill was proposed as part of the suggestions from a select committee formed to study the issue of deliberate online falsehoods. It will be debated in the parliament in the following months.
