PART 3 DIRECTIONS DEALING WITH COMMUNICATION IN
SINGAPORE OF FALSE STATEMENTS OF FACT |
| Conditions for issue of Part 3 Directions |
10.—(1) Any Minister may instruct the Competent Authority to issue a Part 3 Direction if all of the following conditions are satisfied:| (a) | a false statement of fact (called in this Part the subject statement) has been or is being communicated in Singapore; | | (b) | the Minister is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to issue the Direction. |
| (2) Any Minister may instruct the Competent Authority to issue a Part 3 Direction in relation to the subject statement even if it has been amended or has ceased to be communicated in Singapore. |
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11.—(1) A Correction Direction is one issued to a person who communicated the subject statement in Singapore, requiring the person to communicate in Singapore in the specified form and manner, to a specified person or description of persons (if any), and by the specified time, a notice (called in this Part a correction notice) that contains one or both of the following:| (a) | a statement, in such terms as may be specified, that the subject statement is false, or that the specified material contains a false statement of fact; | | (b) | a specified statement of fact, or a reference to a specified location where the specified statement of fact may be found, or both. |
| (2) A Correction Direction may require the person to whom it is issued to communicate in Singapore a correction notice in a specified online location. |
(3) A Correction Direction may also require the person to whom it is issued to do one or both of the following:| (a) | to communicate in Singapore the correction notice by placing it in the specified proximity to every copy of the following that is communicated by the person in Singapore:| (i) | the false statement of fact; | | (ii) | a substantially similar statement; |
| | (b) | to publish the correction notice in the specified manner in a specified newspaper or other printed publication of Singapore. |
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| (4) A person who communicated a false statement of fact in Singapore may be issued a Correction Direction even if the person does not know or has no reason to believe that the statement is false. |
(5) In this section —| (a) | “specified” means specified in the Correction Direction; and | | (b) | a person does not communicate a statement in Singapore merely by doing any act for the purpose of, or that is incidental to, the provision of —| (i) | an internet intermediary service; | | (ii) | a telecommunication service; | | (iii) | a service of giving the public access to the internet; or | | (iv) | a computing resource service. |
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| Stop Communication Direction |
12.—(1) A Stop Communication Direction is one issued to a person who communicated the subject statement in Singapore, requiring the person to stop communicating in Singapore the subject statement by the specified time.| (2) A Stop Communication Direction may also require the person to whom it is issued to stop communicating any statement that is substantially similar to the subject statement. |
(3) A Stop Communication Direction may also require the person to whom it is issued to do one or both of the following:| (a) | to communicate in Singapore a correction notice in the specified form and manner, to a specified person or description of persons (if any), and by the specified time; | | (b) | to publish a correction notice in the specified manner in a specified newspaper or other printed publication of Singapore. |
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| (4) A person who communicated a false statement of fact in Singapore may be issued a Stop Communication Direction even if the person does not know or has no reason to believe that the statement is false. |
| (5) Once a Stop Communication Direction has been issued, the Competent Authority must publish a notice of that fact in the Gazette as soon as possible. |
| (6) However, a failure to publish the notice of the issue of the Stop Communication Direction in the Gazette does not invalidate the Direction. |
(7) In this section —| (a) | “specified” means specified in the Stop Communication Direction; | | (b) | “stop communicating”, in relation to a statement, means taking the necessary steps to ensure that the statement is no longer available on or through the internet to end‑users in Singapore, including (if necessary) the removal of the statement from an online location; and | | (c) | a person does not communicate a statement in Singapore merely by doing any act for the purpose of, or that is incidental to, the provision of —| (i) | an internet intermediary service; | | (ii) | a telecommunication service; | | (iii) | a service of giving the public access to the internet; or | | (iv) | a computing resource service. |
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| Provisions applicable to all Part 3 Directions |
13.—(1) A Part 3 Direction may be issued to a person whether the person is in or outside Singapore.| (2) A Part 3 Direction may require the person to whom it is issued to do an act in or outside Singapore. |
| (3) A Part 3 Direction must identify the subject statement in sufficient detail. |
(4) A Part 3 Direction must comply with such form, manner and other requirement as may be prescribed (if any), and for this purpose different requirements may be prescribed for —| (a) | different Directions; | | (b) | different parts of a Direction; | | (c) | different persons or descriptions of persons to whom a Direction is to be issued; and | | (d) | different circumstances under which a Direction is to be issued. |
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| (5) A Part 3 Direction remains in effect until the date it expires (if any), or it is set aside under section 17 or cancelled under section 19. |
| (6) A person issued a Part 3 Direction is responsible for the costs of complying with the Direction. |
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| Service of Part 3 Directions |
14. A Part 3 Direction may be served by such means (including electronic means) as may be prescribed —| (a) | on the person to whom it is issued; or | | (b) | on a person in Singapore that the person to whom the Part 3 Direction is issued has appointed to accept service on the person’s behalf. |
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| Non-compliance with Part 3 Direction an offence |
15.—(1) A person to whom a Part 3 Direction is issued and served and who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the Direction 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 $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. |
(2) It is not a defence to a charge under subsection (1) that —| (a) | the person is subject to a duty under any written law, any rule of law, any contract or any rule of professional conduct, that prevents the person from complying with any part of a Part 3 Direction or restricts the person in such compliance; or | | (b) | the person has applied under section 19 to vary or cancel the Part 3 Direction or has appealed to the General Division of the High Court against the Direction. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
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| (3) 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 or giving effect to the Part 3 Direction. |
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16.—(1) This section applies where —| (a) | a person fails to comply with a Part 3 Direction; | | (b) | the subject statement is being communicated in Singapore by the person on an online location; and | | (c) | the Minister is satisfied that one or more end‑users in Singapore have used or are using the services of an internet access service provider to access that online location. |
| (2) 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 online location (called in this section an access blocking order), and the IMDA must give the internet access service provider an access blocking order. |
| (3) An internet access service provider that does not comply with any 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. |
| (4) 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 any access blocking order. |
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| Appeals to General Division of High Court |
| 17.—(1) A person to whom a Part 3 Direction is issued may appeal to the General Division of the High Court against the Direction. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] | (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 mentioned in section 19 to vary or cancel the Part 3 Direction under that section, and the Minister refused the application whether in whole or in part. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
| (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. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
| (4) The General Division of the High Court must hear and determine any such appeal and may either confirm the Part 3 Direction or set it aside. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
(5) The General Division of the High Court may only set aside a Part 3 Direction on any of the following grounds on an appeal:| (a) | the person did not communicate in Singapore the subject statement; | | (b) | the subject statement is not a statement of fact, or is a true statement of fact; | | (c) | it is not technically possible to comply with the Direction. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
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| (6) A Part 3 Direction 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 19. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
| (7) Despite subsection (6), if the appellant establishes a prima facie case that it is technically impossible to comply with the Part 3 Direction, the General Division of the High Court may direct that the Direction be stayed pending determination of the appeal. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
| (8) 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. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
| (9) Rules of Court may provide for the manner in which and the time within which an appeal under subsection (1) may be made and the procedure for an application to stay a Part 3 Direction appealed against. [Act 40 of 2019 wef 02/01/2021] |
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| Other causes of action not affected |
| 18. The issue of a Part 3 Direction in relation to the subject statement does not affect any power or right of any person (including a Minister, the Competent Authority or the Government) to take any action under this Act or any other law in relation to that statement, or the power of the Public Prosecutor to initiate proceedings for an offence under this Act or any other law in relation to that statement. |
| Variation or cancellation of Part 3 Direction |
19.—(1) The Minister who instructed the Competent Authority to issue a Part 3 Direction may at any time instruct the Competent Authority to vary or cancel the Part 3 Direction, by serving a written notice on the person to whom the Direction is issued.(2) The Minister who instructed the Competent Authority to issue a Part 3 Direction may instruct the Competent Authority to vary or cancel the Part 3 Direction under subsection (1) —| (a) | on the Minister’s own initiative; or | | (b) | on an application by the person to whom the Direction is issued. |
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| (3) A Part 3 Direction remains in effect despite any application made to the Minister for its variation or cancellation. |
| (4) Sections 14 to 17 apply in relation to a Part 3 Direction that is varied under this section as they apply in relation to the original Part 3 Direction. |
| (5) Section 14 applies in relation to a notice cancelling a Part 3 Direction under this section as it applies in relation to the original Part 3 Direction. |
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