(Slightly edited by TKL for clarity)
Dear Friends
The law is ostensibly designed to target “fake news,” but its language gives Singapore's Ministers a virtually unrestricted right to define the "truth" and to declare anything to be a falsehood. Scholars doing academic work relating to Singapore may get caught up with the law, should the Singapore state object to their work for whatever reason.
According to the definition in the Bill's text (Section 2), "a statement is false if it is false or misleading” (Yes, the definition is a tautology).The state gets to arbitrarily define what that means in practice. The definition is so broad that the omission of a fact (accidentally or otherwise) is sufficient for something to be considered "misleading". Given that it is impossible to include every single fact about any issue (especially if you are writing to a word limit), this guarantees that virtually anything can be deemed “misleading”.
There is also a public interest clause where statements that can affect “friendly relations” with other states or “diminish public confidence” in state bodies are subject to sanction. Any criticism of a politician or public body, for example, would qualify. The government insists that it will not abuse the law to act against critics — but in the past, every single such law has ended up being used primarily to silence critics.
Moreover, the law has extra-territorial reach, so not just scholars based in Singapore but also those who write about Singapore from abroad will be liable, as will publishers. Publishers with a business presence in Singapore will be forced to publish “corrections,” block access, or remove content any Singaporean Minister considers “false.” Even if an article is academically rigorous and otherwise accurate, publishers have to either block access from Singapore or put up disclaimers on the article stating that it is “false.” According to the legislation, the minister demanding corrections can determine the wording of such "corrections." Punishment for non-compliance are jail terms of up to ten years and fines of up to a million Singapore dollars (roughly US$740,000).
There is the possibility of seeking recourse on "corrections" through the courts, but authors, editors, and publishers will have to comply first before seeking recourse. The legal process is lengthy, tiring, and very expensive, which means it will probably be prohibitive for most people. Singapore's courts are not known for disagreeing with the government, and the Singapore state tends not to exercise restraint on issues it does not like or finds somehow embarrassing.
So in the future, ...... , a Minister could simply order me (or any other academic, anywhere in the world) to withdraw my work and issue a statement declaring it false, under penalty of law, with only recourse to an extremely costly legal process (and I would have to comply with declaring my work false before I can turn to the courts). Once I comply, I can then appeal to the same Minister, who can consider the appeal indefinitely (there is no time limit), during which time my declaration that my work is "fake news" would be sitting on the internet for all the world to see. That would be so much easier than a lengthy public interrogation or charging me with perjury.
I link to the text of the bill below as well as some articles for your reference. You can easily find other information online. I am also happy to try to answer any questions you may have. Please do let colleagues and other interested parties know, especially those who may be potentially interested, so that they are in a better position to decide what is best for themselves and their scholarship. Thank you once again for your support. It meant a lot to me at a difficult time. Rest assured I will keep fighting for the truth, and speaking truth to power, in the best tradition of academia.
Yours sincerely,
PJ
Text:
Human Rights Watch:
International Commission of Jurists:
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Reporters without Borders: https://rsf.org/en/
FAQ by New Naratif: https://newnaratif.
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