PART 7 | Prescribed digital advertising intermediary or internet intermediary to disable access in Singapore to certain paid content |
47.—(1) A prescribed digital advertising intermediary or prescribed internet intermediary must take reasonable steps (both in and outside Singapore) to ensure that 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 an online location that includes the statement or material that is the subject of a Part 3 Direction or Part 4 Direction.| (2) The Minister may instruct the Competent Authority to direct a prescribed digital advertising intermediary or prescribed internet intermediary to designate a channel by which the Competent Authority may notify it of any online location that includes a false statement of fact that is the subject of a Part 3 Direction or Part 4 Direction. |
| (3) A prescribed digital advertising intermediary or prescribed internet intermediary is treated for the purposes of subsection (1) 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. |
(4) A prescribed digital advertising intermediary or prescribed internet intermediary that 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 $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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48.—(1) The Competent Authority may issue one or more codes of practice applicable to one or both of the following:| (a) | prescribed digital advertising intermediaries or prescribed types of digital advertising intermediaries; | | (b) | prescribed internet intermediaries or prescribed types of internet intermediaries, |
| for the purpose of enhancing disclosure of the sponsor and other information concerning any paid content that is directed towards a political end, that is communicated in Singapore. |
(2) The Competent Authority may issue one or more codes of practice applicable to prescribed internet intermediaries or prescribed types of internet intermediaries, for one or more of the following purposes:| (a) | to detect, control and safeguard against coordinated inauthentic behaviour and any other misuse of online accounts; | | (b) | to give prominence to credible sources of information; | | (c) | to not give prominence to a declared online location and an online location that is or that contains —| (i) | a statement of fact that is the subject of a Part 3 Direction; or | | (ii) | any material that is the subject of a Part 4 Direction. |
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(3) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), a code of practice may —| (a) | require a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary to carry out specified due diligence measures before entering into an agreement to communicate in Singapore any paid content that is directed towards a political end; | | (b) | require a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary to disclose to the public, or a specified description of persons, any paid content communicated in Singapore that is directed towards a political end, and to maintain and make available to the public, or a specified description of persons, a record of all such paid content; | | (c) | require an internet intermediary to carry out specified due diligence measures for the detection of coordinated inauthentic behaviour involving online accounts created with it and to safeguard against any misuse of such online accounts; | | (d) | require an internet intermediary to carry out specified due diligence measures to safeguard against any misrepresentation of the identity of an end‑user and to safeguard against any misuse of bots; | | (e) | require an internet intermediary to report to the Competent Authority any knowledge or suspicion of any coordinated inauthentic behaviour; | | (f) | require a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary to report to the Competent Authority any knowledge or suspicion of any misuse of services provided by the digital advertising intermediary or internet intermediary to facilitate the communication of paid content in Singapore; | | (g) | require a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary to designate a channel by which the Competent Authority may notify it of any Declaration, Part 3 Direction or Part 4 Direction; | | (h) | require a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary to keep specified records, and to provide specified reports to the Competent Authority at a specified frequency, regarding its compliance with any part of the code of practice; | | (i) | require a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary to put in place measures to detect non‑compliance with any specified due diligence measures, to keep specified records, and to provide specified reports to the Competent Authority within a specified time of such non‑compliance; and | | (j) | require measures in the code of practice to be taken in or outside Singapore, or both. |
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(4) The Competent Authority may, at any time —| (a) | vary a code of practice (including by adding anything to it) with respect to any purpose specified in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be; or | | (b) | revoke a code of practice. |
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(5) If any provision in a code of practice is inconsistent with any provision of this Act, that provision —| (a) | is to have effect subject to this Act; or | | (b) | having regard to this Act, is not to have effect. |
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| (6) Subject to subsection (5), every prescribed digital advertising intermediary or prescribed internet intermediary, or every digital advertising intermediary or internet intermediary within the prescribed type of digital advertising intermediary or prescribed type of internet intermediary, must comply with a code of practice (or any part of it) applicable to it. |
| (7) The Competent Authority may, for such time as it may specify, waive the application of any code of practice (or any part of a code of practice) to any digital advertising intermediary or internet intermediary. |
| (8) A code of practice issued under this section does not have legislative effect. |
(9) In subsection (1), “towards a political end” means —| (a) | to promote the interests of a political party or other group of persons organised in Singapore for political objects; | | (b) | to influence, or to seek to influence, the outcome of an election to the office of President, a general election of Members of Parliament, a by‑election of a Member of Parliament, or a referendum; | | (c) | to influence, or to seek to influence, public opinion on a matter which in Singapore is a matter of public interest or public controversy; or | | (d) | to bring about, or to seek to bring about, changes of the law in the whole or a part of Singapore, or to otherwise influence, or to seek to influence, the legislative process or outcome in Singapore. |
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49.—(1) Any digital advertising intermediary or internet intermediary who is aggrieved by anything contained in a code of practice may appeal to the Minister.(2) An appeal under this section —| (a) | must be in writing; | | (b) | must specify the grounds on which it is made; and | | (c) | must be made within 14 days after the date the code of practice or (if the appeal is against a variation of the code) the variation takes effect, or such longer period as the Minister may allow in the appellant’s case. |
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(3) The Minister may require —| (a) | any party to the appeal; or | | (b) | any person who is not a party to the appeal but appears to the Minister to have any information or document that is relevant to the appeal, |
| to provide the Minister with such information or document as the Minister may require for the purpose of considering and determining the appeal; and any person so required to provide the information or document must provide it in such manner and within such period as may be specified by the Minister. |
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| (4) The Minister may reject the appeal if the appellant does not comply with subsection (2) or (3). |
| (5) The appeal does not affect the operation of the relevant part of the code of practice unless otherwise directed by the Minister in any particular case. |
| (6) The Minister may determine the appeal by confirming, varying or reversing the relevant part of the code of practice, and the Minister’s decision is final. |
| (7) Regulations may be made under section 62 for the manner in which an appeal may be made to the Minister under this section and the procedure to be adopted in hearing such appeals. |
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| Notice requiring compliance |
50.—(1) If, whether upon a review of a report given pursuant to a code of practice or otherwise, the Competent Authority is of the opinion that a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary (called in this section the intermediary) to whom a code of practice applies had not complied with or complied fully with any part of the code, the Competent Authority may give the intermediary a notice —| (a) | setting out details of the non‑compliance; and | | (b) | directing the intermediary to take such steps, whether in or outside Singapore, and within a specified time, as may be necessary to remedy the non‑compliance. |
(2) A notice under subsection (1) may be served by such means (including electronic means) as may be prescribed —| (a) | on the intermediary to whom it is issued; or | | (b) | a person in Singapore that the intermediary has appointed to accept service on the intermediary’s behalf. |
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(3) An intermediary to whom a notice is issued and served who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the notice, 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 $1 million, |
| and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction. |
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| Code of practice and section 50 notice have effect despite other laws, etc. |
51.—(1) A requirement of a code of practice or a notice under section 50 applicable to a digital advertising intermediary or an internet intermediary (called in this section the intermediary) has effect despite —| (a) | any duty of confidentiality or privacy imposed by any rule of law; or | | (b) | any duty imposed by any contract or any rule of professional conduct, |
| that prevents the intermediary from complying with that requirement or restricts the intermediary in such compliance. |
| (2) No civil or criminal liability is incurred by an intermediary or an officer, employee or agent of the intermediary, 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 or giving effect to a requirement of the code of practice or a notice under section 50. |
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