30 November 2019
Facebook bows to Singapore's 'fake news' law with post 'correction'
Facebook has added a correction notice to a post that Singapore's government said contained false information.
It is the first time Facebook has issued such a notice under the city-state's controversial "fake news" law.
Singapore claimed the post, by fringe news site States Times Review (STR), contained "scurrilous accusations".
The note issued by the social media giant said it "is legally required to tell you that the Singapore government says this post has false information".
Facebook's addition was embedded at the bottom of the original post, which was not altered. It was only visible to social media users in Singapore.
What is the 'fake news' law?
The law, known as the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation bill, came into effect in October.
It allows the government to order online platforms to remove and correct what it deems to be false statements that are "against the public interest".
A person found guilty of doing this in Singapore could be fined heavily and face a prison sentence of up to five years.
The law 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.
What's been said about it?
Critics say the law threatens freedom of expression. Amnesty International said it would "give authorities unchecked powers to clamp down on online views of which it disapproves".
But Singapore's law minister said free speech "should not be affected by this bill", adding that it was aimed only at tackling "falsehoods, bots, trolls and fake accounts".
The government has argued that the law safeguards against abuse of power by allowing judicial reviews of its orders.
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