PART 5 | DECLARATION OF ONLINE LOCATIONS |
| Declared online locations |
32.—(1) The Minister may declare an online location as a declared online location if all of the following conditions are satisfied:| (a) | 3 or more different statements that are the subject of one or more active Part 3 Directions or Part 4 Directions, or both, have been or are being communicated in Singapore on the online location; | | (b) | at least 3 of those statements had first been communicated in Singapore on the online location within 6 months before the date the Declaration is made. |
| (2) For the purpose of subsection (1)(a), a statement is different from another if it is different in a material particular from that other statement. |
(3) A Declaration —| (a) | must contain the Universal Resource Locator (URL), domain name, or any other unique identifier of the online location; | | (b) | must reproduce the relevant Directions; | | (c) | must state the date the Declaration comes into effect; | | (d) | must state the date of the Declaration’s expiry or a formula by which that date may be worked out, which must not be later than 2 years after the date in paragraph (c); | | (e) | may state the time on that date the Declaration is to expire or a formula by which that time may be worked out; | | (f) | may require the owner or operator of the online location (whether or not he or she is in or outside Singapore) to communicate in the specified manner in Singapore to any end‑user who accesses the online location, a notice in the specified terms that the online location is the subject of a Declaration; and | | (g) | must contain such other particulars as may be prescribed. |
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(4) A Declaration expires —| (a) | on the date and at the time (if any) stated in, or worked out in accordance with, the Declaration; or | | (b) | on the date it is cancelled or set aside, |
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(5) As soon as possible after a Declaration is made and before the date it comes into effect, the Competent Authority must —| (a) | publish, in such form and manner as may be prescribed, a notice in the Gazette —| (i) | stating that a Declaration has been issued under this section; and | | (ii) | setting out the URL, domain name, or any other unique identifier of the online location, to which the Declaration relates; and |
| | (b) | make reasonable efforts to give a copy of the Declaration to the owner or operator of the declared online location. |
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(6) The owner or operator of a declared online location who fails to comply with any requirement mentioned in subsection (3)(f) whether in or outside Singapore, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $40,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; or | | (b) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $500,000. |
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| (7) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (6) for the accused to prove that the accused did not know and had no reason to believe that a Declaration was made in relation to the online location. |
| (8) The Minister may at any time suspend a Declaration for such period as the Minister may determine, or vary or cancel a Declaration. |
(9) The Minister may suspend, vary or cancel a Declaration —| (a) | on the Minister’s own initiative; or | | (b) | on an application by —| (i) | the owner or operator of the declared online location; or | | (ii) | any person with editorial control over the online location. |
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(10) As soon as possible after a Declaration is suspended, varied or cancelled, the Competent Authority must —| (a) | publish, in such form and manner as may be prescribed, a notice of the suspension, variation or cancellation in the Gazette; and | | (b) | make reasonable efforts to give a copy of such notice to the owner or operator of the declared online location. |
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| (11) Regulations may be made under section 62 to prescribe the reasonable efforts required to be made under subsections (5)(b) and (10)(b). |
(12) For the purposes of subsection (1) —| (a) | “active”, in relation to a Part 3 Direction or Part 4 Direction, means that the Part 3 Direction or Part 4 Direction (as the case may be) has not been set aside at the time the Declaration mentioned in subsection (1) is made; | | (b) | where a statement of fact is communicated in Singapore on —| (i) | an online location bearing a sub‑domain name that is part of a domain name; or | | (ii) | a sub‑directory of a website, |
| the Minister may treat the statement as being communicated on the online location that bears that domain name, or on that website, as the case may be; and |
| | | | (a) The Minister may treat a statement communicated on abc.example.com as being communicated on example.com. |
| | | (b) The Minister may treat a statement communicated on www.example.com/abc as being communicated on www.example.com. |
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| | (c) | where the statements mentioned in subsection (1) are duplicated on another online location (called in this paragraph the mirrored location), each mirrored location is to be regarded as part of the original online location. |
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33.—(1) This section applies where —| (a) | paid content included on a declared online location is communicated in Singapore after a prescribed period starting on the date the Declaration concerned came into effect; and | | (b) | the Minister is satisfied that after the date the Declaration came into effect, one or more end‑users in Singapore have used or are using the services of an internet access service provider to access the declared online location. |
(2) This section also applies where —| (a) | the owner or operator of a declared online location did not comply with a requirement mentioned in section 32(3)(f) that is specified in the Declaration concerned; and | | (b) | the Minister is satisfied that after the date the Declaration came into effect, one or more end‑users in Singapore have used or are using the services of an internet access service provider to access the declared online location. |
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| (3) The Minister may direct the IMDA to order the internet access service provider to take reasonable steps to disable access by end‑users in Singapore to the declared online location (called in this section an access blocking order), and the IMDA must give the internet access service provider an access blocking order. |
| (4) An internet access service provider that fails to comply with an access blocking order shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 for each day during any part of which that order is not fully complied with, up to a total of $500,000. |
| (5) No civil or criminal liability is incurred by an internet access service provider or an officer, employee or agent of such provider, for anything done or omitted to be done with reasonable care and in good faith in complying with an access blocking order. |
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| Order to internet intermediary to disable access to declared online location |
34.—(1) This section applies where —| (a) | paid content included on a declared online location is communicated in Singapore after a prescribed period starting on the date the Declaration concerned came into effect; | | (b) | the Minister is satisfied that after the date the Declaration came into effect, one or more end‑users in Singapore have used or are using the services of an internet intermediary to access the declared online location; and | | (c) | the internet intermediary has control over access by end‑users in any place to the declared online location. |
(2) This section also applies where —| (a) | the owner or operator of a declared online location did not comply with a requirement mentioned in section 32(3)(f) that is specified in the Declaration concerned; | | (b) | the Minister is satisfied that after the date the Declaration came into effect, one or more end‑users in Singapore have used or are using the services of an internet intermediary to access the declared online location; and | | (c) | the internet intermediary has control over access by end‑users in any place to the declared online location. |
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| (3) The Minister may direct the Competent Authority to order the internet intermediary to disable access by end‑users in Singapore to the declared online location, and the Competent Authority must give the internet intermediary such order. |
| (4) An order of the Competent Authority under subsection (3) may be issued to a person whether the person is in or outside Singapore, and may require the person to do an act in or outside Singapore. |
| (5) An internet intermediary that fails to comply with an order of the Competent Authority under subsection (3) whether in or outside Singapore, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 for each day during any part of which that order is not fully complied with, up to a total of $500,000. |
| (6) No civil or criminal liability is incurred by an internet intermediary or an officer, employee or agent of such intermediary, for anything done or omitted to be done with reasonable care and in good faith in complying with an order under subsection (3). |
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| Appeals to General Division of High Court |
35.—(1) The following persons may appeal to the General Division of the High Court against a Declaration:| (a) | the owner or operator of the declared online location; | | (b) | any person with editorial control over the online location. [40/2019] |
| (2) No appeal may be made to the General Division of the High Court by any person unless the person has first applied to the Minister to vary or cancel the Declaration under section 32(9), and the Minister refused the application whether in whole or in part. [40/2019] |
| (3) An appeal may only be made to the General Division of the High Court within such period as may be prescribed by Rules of Court. [40/2019] |
| (4) The General Division of the High Court must hear and determine any such appeal and may either confirm the Declaration or set it aside. [40/2019] |
| (5) The General Division of the High Court may only set aside a Declaration on the ground that, at the time of making the Declaration, the condition specified in section 32(1)(a) or (b) was not satisfied. [40/2019] |
| (6) A Declaration that is the subject of an appeal under subsection (1) remains in effect despite the appeal, and only ceases to have effect if it is set aside by the General Division of the High Court or the appellate court on appeal from the General Division of the High Court, or if it expires or is cancelled under section 32(8). [40/2019] |
| (7) There is such further right of appeal from a decision of the General Division of the High Court under this section as exists in the case of a decision made by the General Division of the High Court in the exercise of its original civil jurisdiction. [40/2019] |
| (8) Rules of Court may provide for the manner in which and the time within which an appeal under subsection (1) may be made. |
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| Deriving benefit from operating declared online location |
36.—(1) A person who, whether in or outside Singapore, solicits, receives or agrees to receive any financial or other material benefit as an inducement or reward for operating a declared online location shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $40,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; or | | (b) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $500,000. |
(2) Without limiting the generality of the expression, a person receives financial or other material benefit as an inducement or reward for the operation of an online location if the person receives from another —| (a) | any consideration for the sale of advertising space on the online location; or | | (b) | any consideration for access to any part of the online location. |
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| (3) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (1) for the accused to prove that the accused did not know and had no reason to believe that the online location was a declared online location. |
| (4) Where a court convicts any person of an offence under subsection (1), the court must, in addition to imposing on that person the punishment in that subsection, order the person to pay as a penalty, within the time specified by the court, a sum equal to the amount of any financial or other material benefit received or the amount that in the court’s opinion is the value of that financial or other material benefit, and any such penalty is recoverable as a fine. |
| (5) Subsection (4) does not apply if the court determines that the value of the financial or other material benefit cannot be assessed. |
(6) Where —| (a) | a person charged with 2 or more offences under subsection (1) is convicted of one or more of those offences; and | | (b) | the other outstanding offences are taken into consideration by the court under section 148 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 for the purpose of passing sentence, |
| the court may increase the penalty mentioned in subsection (4) by an amount not exceeding the total amount or value of the financial or other material benefit received for the offences so taken into consideration. |
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| (7) In this section, a person is not taken to operate an online location if the person does so merely as part of providing an internet intermediary service or incidentally to such provision. |
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| Certain persons must not communicate in Singapore paid content on declared online locations, etc. |
37.—(1) A service provider must take reasonable steps (both in and outside Singapore) to ensure that after a prescribed period starting on the date the Declaration comes into effect, any paid content that it includes or causes to be included on a declared online location is not communicated in Singapore on the declared online location.| (2) A digital advertising intermediary must take reasonable steps (both in and outside Singapore) to ensure that, after a prescribed period starting on the date the Declaration comes into effect, any paid content that it includes or causes to be included on a declared online location is not communicated in Singapore on the declared online location. |
| (3) A prescribed digital advertising intermediary or prescribed internet intermediary must take reasonable steps (both in and outside Singapore) to ensure that, after a prescribed period starting on the date the Declaration comes into effect, it does not, when acting as a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary, facilitate the communication in Singapore of any paid content that gives publicity to, or otherwise promotes, a declared online location. |
| (4) A service provider or digital advertising intermediary is treated for the purposes of subsection (1) or (2) (as the case may be) as having taken reasonable steps to ensure that any paid content that it includes or causes to be included on a declared online location is not communicated in Singapore on the declared online location if it has taken such steps as may be prescribed by regulations made under section 62. |
| (5) A prescribed digital advertising intermediary or prescribed internet intermediary is treated for the purposes of subsection (3) as having taken reasonable steps to ensure that it does not facilitate the communication in Singapore of any paid content mentioned in that subsection if it has taken such steps as may be prescribed by regulations made under section 62. |
(6) A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; or | | (b) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $500,000. |
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| (7) In any proceeding for an offence under subsection (1), (2) or (3), it is a defence for the accused to prove that the accused did not know and had no reason to believe that the online location was a declared online location. |
(8) In any proceeding for an offence under subsection (1), (2) or (3), it is not a defence for the accused to show that —| (a) | the accused did the act in question at the direction of another person; or | | (b) | the paid content was communicated in Singapore by its inclusion on any online location through an automatic process without the accused choosing where the paid content is communicated, except as an automatic response to the request of a person. |
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| Prohibition on providing financial support to declared online locations |
38.—(1) A person must not, whether in or outside Singapore, expend or apply any property knowing or having reason to believe that the expenditure or application supports, helps or promotes the communication of false statements of fact in Singapore on a declared online location.| (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a service provider or a digital advertising intermediary which gives any consideration for the purpose of communicating any paid content in Singapore on the declared online location. |
(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $40,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both; or | | (b) | in any other case, to a fine not exceeding $500,000. |
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| (4) In this section, “property” means money and all other property, movable or immovable, including things in action and other intangible or incorporeal property. |
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| Sections 36, 37 and 38 have effect despite other laws, etc. |
39.—(1) It is not a defence to a charge under section 36, 37 or 38 that the accused is subject to any duty under any written law, any rule of law, any contract or any rule of professional conduct, that prevents the person from complying with that section or restricts the person in such compliance.| (2) No civil or criminal liability is incurred by the person or an officer, employee or agent of the person for doing or omitting to do any act, if the act is done or omitted to be done with reasonable care and in good faith and for the purpose of complying with section 36, 37 or 38. |
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