Singapore’s parliament has passed an anti-fake news bill that has been criticized by rights groups, journalists and tech firms over fears it could be used to clamp down on freedom of speech.
The law will require online media platforms to carry corrections or remove content the government considers to be false, with penalties for perpetrators running as high as prison terms of up to 10 years or fines up to S$1 million ($735,000).
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill passed with 72 members voting in favor. All nine opposition lawmakers voted against, local media reported.
Three nominated members of parliament, who are appointed directly by the president and not affiliated to political parties, all abstained.
Technology giants including Google and Facebook have said they see the law giving Singapore’s government too much power over deciding what qualifies as true or false.
But Law Minister K. Shanmugam earlier told parliament the…
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
