<![CDATA[Singapore's opposition calls fake-news bill a 'Damocles sword' hanging over the public]>

Singapore's tiny parliamentary opposition on Tuesday said it would oppose the government's proposed law to combat fake news, citing concerns that it could become a "Damocles sword" used by the long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP) against its critics.

The parliamentary speech by Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh followed a two-hour address to the legislature by the Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam, beating back robust opposition of the proposed bill by academics and global technology giants.

Shanmugam's speech kick-started a rare marathon debate in the 101-seat legislature, in which the PAP has a supermajority. The proposed Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (Pofma) bill is likely to pass without amendment on Wednesday.

But Pritam said his party " which has six elected MPs and three others who are appointed " would oppose the proposed bill en masse.

"All the Workers' Party MPs will speak against it. Our objections centre primarily around a fundamental matter," Pritam said in the speech. "First, we do not agree that the executive should be the initial decision maker on matters surrounding false statements of fact."

Singapore Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh. Photo: Facebook

The party's second gripe with the bill, Pritam said, was that there was "uncertainty" surrounding the circumstances under a which a government minister could exercise his powers under the proposed law to issue takedown notices or demand a correction from online portals.

He said a government-convened select committee on deliberate falsehoods " of which he was a member " last year heard testimony from experts who had raised "the prospects of the executive itself spreading falsehoods".

"This should give all Singaporeans reason to pause and consider whether the bill that will be passed today with the executive as decision maker is truly in the best interests of Singapore," he said.

"In fact, it is my case that Pofma can easily become a proverbial Damocles sword that would hang over members of the public who do not support the government's narrative or toe the government's line."

But Shanmugam, a top lieutenant of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in his speech sought to suggest most of the criticism surrounding the Pofma bill arose because of a misunderstanding about what it entailed.

Under the proposed law, those found guilty of deliberately spreading falsehoods could face up to 10 years in jail and S$1 million (US$738,500) in fines for the most severe cases.

Singapore's Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam. Photo: AFP

Legal action will be taken when the "deliberate online falsehood" meets two criteria: when there is dissemination of a false statement of fact, and when such action is deemed in the public interest, according to the proposed law.

Shanmugam said academics from around the world who had signed a letter voicing their concerns about the law appeared to be expressing their view "without an understanding of the existing legal position".

The law would narrow powers the government already had in past legislation to deal with the dissemination of false information, the minister said, adding that it would not affect free speech.

"Free speech should not be affected by this bill. We are talking here about falsehoods. We are talking about bots ... trolls ... fake accounts and so on," he said. "The working of a democratic society depends on the members of that society being informed and not misinformed."

International rights groups have said the PAP's track record of crushing dissent " an assertion the party vehemently refutes " is one of the reasons for the widespread anxiety over the bill by academics and social media giants.

The Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights group on Tuesday urged the government to consider amendments to the bill, saying it is "difficult to see how this is not just another attempt by the authorities to silence debate online".

The Singapore government has plenty of tools to push back against the criticism. Shanmugam's deputy in the law ministry, Edwin Tong, displayed the harder approach on Monday in a biting commentary in The Straits Times newspaper.

He accused the Asia Internet Coalition " a lobby group representing top technology companies including Facebook and Twitter " of wielding free speech "to defend Big Tech's commercial interests".

"As if bots, trolls, fake accounts propagating fake news, have all got the right to free speech. (But they do make money for Big Tech)," the senior minister of law and health wrote.

Shanmugam, the PAP's go-to political bruiser " widely viewed as one of Prime Minister Lee's most influential ministers " meanwhile employed a softer approach.

Over the weekend he posted a Facebook video of a mock interview with local comedian Michelle Chong, who asked him questions about Pofma posing as a folksy, Singlish-speaking influencer.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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