Singapore: Singapore has proposed law against fake news, however on the flip side, nearly 100 academics worldwide have expressed concern over it. They have warned that the law could threaten academic freedom and hurt the city-state’s ambition to become a global education hub.
The bill was introduced by the government this month and it contains some tough measures. It gives powers to ministers to order social media platforms like Facebook, Google and Twitter to put up warnings next to posts that the authorities deem false, they also have power to take them down.
Individuals could face jail terms of up to 10 years and companies could be charged up to 1 million Singapore dollars (USD740,000) as fine if an action is considered malicious and damaging to the country’s interests.
On one hand authorities in the country assure that the new measure would prevent online falsehoods and that the draft law does not restrict opinion and will not affect academic research work. But on the other, the move has sparked anger from press freedom groups and tech giants such as Facebook and Google.
It has been reported that about 97 academics from around the world with expertise in Singapore and Asia have signed a letter warning the proposed legislation “may deter scholarship and set precedents harmful to global academia.” They claim that it will have unintended detrimental consequences on scholars and research in Singapore and could compromise the country’s notable efforts to develop itself into an internationally-recognised hub for excellence in higher education.
Academics Against Disinformation group in Singapore have written to the education ministry expressing their concerns. The bill is expected to pass easily through parliament, which is dominated by the long-ruling People’s Action Party.