Singapore has used new laws to shut down a Facebook page run by an Australian resident over anti-government posts.
Alex Tan runs the page State Times Review from his home in Australia, publishing articles and opinion pieces, often critical of the Singaporean government.
In peak times, such as during elections, his website receives up to two million hits per month.
But earlier this week the Singaporean Ministry of Communications and Information ordered Facebook to ban his page from being viewed in the country, due to what it says are factual errors which could cause public hysteria.
The move was possible under the country’s recently passed Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation legislation.
In a statement to SBS News, Facebook said it was disappointed with the Singaporean government’s decision, but it was compelled to comply.
“After careful review of the order, Facebook has determined that we are legally compelled to restrict access to this page in Singapore,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to SBS News.
“We believe orders like this are disproportionate and contradict the government’s claim that POFMA would not be used as a censorship tool.
“We’ve repeatedly highlighted this law’s potential for overreach and we’re deeply concerned about the precedent this sets for the stifling of freedom of expression in Singapore.”
A controversial claim
Alex Tan, a dual citizen who contested the 2011 Singapore election and now calls himself a political activist, has self-exiled to Australia.
His stories are a mixture of news and opinion, where he often calls for the ruling People's Republican Party to step down.
According to the state-run website Factually, there are errors in three of his State Times Review articles - all related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Mr Tan suggested the country had run out of face masks, but the website claims that was merely an unfounded rumor which could cause anxiety to citizens.
“[Minister for Health] Dr Lam Pin Min was clearly pictured in a warehouse which showed part of the government stockpile of surgical masks,” the website reads.
“[Dr Lam Pin Min’s] Facebook post also stated clearly that there is sufficient supply of masks if people use them sensibly and responsibly.”
Singapore's Health Minister posted a photo of his visit to a warehouse to inspect mask stockpiles. Source: Facebook
The office issued correction directions to the publication, which Mr Tan ignored.
“In all the retail shops, no one can buy a mask in Singapore anymore, even today, so my response to them [the government] is, what they are saying is not true.
“Does it create hysteria or chaos? To be honest to a certain degree I agree with them, but that doesn’t mean we stop reporting the truth.
“That is the purpose of having an online news media; to report what is happening on the ground, and not report what everybody wants to hear.”
What effect does this legislation have?
The order has not stopped Mr Tan publishing.
He has set up a new Facebook page and his readers have moved across, plus with the publicity he’s more popular than ever.
He posted on Facebook "readership of my site is now 15 per cent higher. I won this round."
The activist said he will continue to post unless the Australian government intervenes.
“I will only abide by the local Australian law, so unless I receive a court order here I don’t think I will being doing anything different,” Mr Tan said.
But, more broadly, media law experts are worried about the precedent this case sets and the vague nature of the Singaporean legislation.
“The terms of the legislation are quite broad. One of the aims is to prevent the dissemination of information that would diminish the public confidence in the government or a government body,” University of Technology Sydney lecturer Geoff Holland said.
“But there is no defining what diminished public confidence means, so the government has a lot of latitude to determine whether there is diminishment of the public confidence in the government.
“With the laws as vague as this neither an author or a publisher can be certain what would breach the law, so the end result is that people will be reluctant to publish, under fear that they may breach the law, even when it is a matter of real public importance.”
Singapore is ranked 151 out of 180 countries in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index.
