4. The principal Regulations are amended by inserting, immediately after regulation 1A, the following Parts:“PART 2 | ELECTION ADVERTISING PARTICULARS |
| Non-print election advertising particulars |
1B.—(1) For the purposes of section 42(1)(c)(ii) of the Act, the relevant particulars of any election advertising on any website must be displayed conspicuously —| (a) | on the first opening page of the website containing any election advertising; and | | (b) | on the page first displayed for every sub‑directory of the website if the relevant particulars of the election advertising in the sub‑directory are not the same as those on the first opening page of that website. |
(2) For the purposes of section 42(1)(c)(ii) of the Act, the relevant particulars must be displayed conspicuously on every election advertising sent —| (a) | by electronic transmission (including facsimile transmission); | | (b) | by or through a micro-blog, a social networking service, an electronic media application, an SMS service or an MMS service; | | (c) | by an electronic mail; | | (d) | as a web log entry; or | | (e) | as a message in a chat room, in a discussion forum or on any other platform on the Internet. |
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| (3) Where the publisher of any election advertising or the person for whom or at whose direction any election advertising is published is an unincorporated association or society, it is sufficient for the purposes of this regulation to state the name of the association or society, as the case may be. |
(4) In this regulation, “relevant particulars”, in relation to any election advertising, means —| (a) | the name of the publisher of the election advertising; and | | (b) | the name of every person for whom or at whose direction the election advertising is published. |
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PART 3 | INTERNET ELECTION ADVERTISING |
| Permitted forms of election advertising |
1C.—(1) For the purposes of section 60AA(1)(b) of the Act, a candidate or his election agent may publish on the Internet during the election period the following election advertising (in the form of, but not limited to, any text, still or moving picture, sign, symbol or other visual image, or any speech, music, sound or other audible message), and no others:| (a) | any photograph of the candidate or any drawing or illustration which purports to depict the candidate or to be a likeness or representation of the candidate; | | (b) | any photograph or film of any person or persons lawfully taking part in or conducting any election activity, or any drawing or illustration which purports to depict any such person or persons or to be a likeness or representation of any such person or persons; | | (c) | the manifesto of the candidate; | | (d) | any historical or biographical information about the candidate; | | (e) | any newsletter, journal or other periodical publication of the candidate; | | (f) | any message, article or comment that promotes the election of the candidate, including one that takes a position on an issue with which the candidate is associated; | | (g) | the whole or part of the symbol allotted to the candidate under section 16(1)(b) or (1A) of the Act; | | (h) | any advertisement or material for acquiring the services of volunteers or canvassers for the candidate; | | (i) | any announcement of any event held or to be held by or on behalf of the candidate. |
(2) Any election advertising that —| (a) | is sent by an electronic mail must contain a clearly and conspicuously displayed functioning electronic mail address to which the recipient of the electronic mail may send a reply to the sender of the electronic mail to indicate a desire not to receive any further electronic mail containing election advertising from that sender at the electronic mail address at which the firstmentioned electronic mail was received; or | | (b) | is in an electronic message must contain a clearly and conspicuously displayed —| (i) | functioning digital mobile telephone number; | | (ii) | functioning electronic mail address; or | | (iii) | functioning electronic user name, |
| to which the recipient of the electronic message may send a reply to the sender of the electronic message to indicate a desire not to receive any further electronic message containing election advertising from that sender at the digital mobile telephone number, electronic mail address or electronic user name at which the firstmentioned electronic message was received. |
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(3) If the recipient of any electronic mail or electronic message containing any election advertising makes a request to the sender of the electronic mail or electronic message —| (a) | in the case of an electronic mail — through an electronic mail sent to a functioning electronic mail address provided under paragraph (2)(a); or | | (b) | in the case of an electronic message — through an electronic mail or electronic message sent to a functioning digital mobile telephone number, a functioning electronic mail address or a functioning electronic user name provided under paragraph (2)(b), |
| not to receive any further electronic mail or electronic message, as the case may be, containing election advertising from the sender, the sender must not send or cause to be sent any further electronic mail or electronic message containing election advertising during the election period to the recipient’s electronic mail address, digital mobile telephone number or electronic user name at which the firstmentioned electronic mail or electronic message was received, without the prior express consent of the recipient. |
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(4) To avoid doubt, nothing in this regulation permits any of the following to be published by any candidate or his election agent on the Internet during the election period:| (a) | any election survey within the meaning of section 60B of the Act; | | (b) | any appeal to the public or any class of the public to make any donation that contravenes the Political Donations Act (Cap. 236); | | (c) | any facility enabling any member of the public or any class of the public to search for election advertising the publication of which contravenes these Regulations or is proscribed by the Returning Officer; | | (d) | any party political film within the meaning of the Films Act (Cap. 107) or any film the exhibition or distribution of which is contrary to the provisions of that Act. |
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| (5) Every candidate and his election agent must use their best efforts to ensure that any election advertising they publish or cause to be published is published in conformity with this Part and any other written law. |
(6) For the purposes of this regulation —| (a) | “functioning electronic mail address”, “functioning digital mobile telephone number” or “functioning electronic user name”, in relation to any electronic mail or electronic message, means an electronic mail address, a digital mobile telephone number or an electronic user name, respectively, that —| (i) | remains capable of receiving electronic mail or electronic messages for not less than 14 days after the transmission of the firstmentioned electronic mail or electronic message; and | | (ii) | has capacity, reasonably calculated in the light of the number of recipients of the firstmentioned electronic mail or electronic message, to enable it to receive the full expected quantity of reply electronic mail or electronic messages from such recipients; and |
| | (b) | an electronic mail address, a digital mobile telephone number or an electronic user name does not cease to be a functioning electronic mail address, functioning digital mobile telephone number or functioning electronic user name, respectively, by reason only of a temporary inability to receive electronic mail or electronic messages due to technical problems, provided steps are taken to correct such technical problems within a reasonable time and without delay. |
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| Chat rooms and discussion forum |
1D.—(1) Where a chat room or discussion forum is to be maintained by or on behalf of a candidate during the election period, the candidate or his election agent must, before the start of the election period —| (a) | appoint as moderator one or more persons to directly manage the chat room or discussion forum during the election period; and | | (b) | notify the Returning Officer of such appointment. |
(2) The moderator of a chat room or discussion forum has the following duties:| (a) | he must maintain a record of all messages, including their contents, sent to the chat room or discussion forum during the election period; | | (b) | he must without delay remove any message in the chat room or discussion forum as and when directed by and in accordance with the written directions of the Returning Officer or any person acting under the Returning Officer’s authority. |
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(3) The candidate who or on whose behalf a chat room or discussion forum is maintained during the election period must —| (a) | use his best efforts to ensure that the chat room or discussion forum is maintained in conformity with this regulation and any other written law; | | (b) | keep and furnish to the Returning Officer all information, records, documents, data and other materials concerning or relating to the provision of the chat room or discussion forum as the Returning Officer may, from time to time, require during the election period; and | | (c) | remove, or prohibit the inclusion of, the whole or any part of any message in the chat room or discussion forum if the Returning Officer informs the moderator of the chat room or discussion forum that the message (or any part of it) is against public interest, public order or national harmony or offends good taste or decency and directs its removal or prohibition. |
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| (4) To avoid doubt, in this regulation, a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained by or on behalf of a candidate includes a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained by the candidate either alone or as part of a group of persons. |
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| Declaration of election advertising by candidates or election agents |
1E.—(1) During the campaign period of an election, election advertising (in the form of, but not limited to, any text, still or moving picture, sign, symbol or other visual image, or any speech, music, sound or other audible message) may be published by or on behalf of a candidate on a platform maintained by or on behalf of the candidate on the Internet if and only if the candidate or his election agent gives a declaration required under paragraph (2) in respect of that platform.(2) A candidate or his election agent must give to the Returning Officer, in such form and manner as the Returning Officer may require —| (a) | within 12 hours after the start of the campaign period, one or more declarations containing the particulars (as described in paragraph (3)) of every platform maintained by or on behalf of the candidate on the Internet on which any election advertising has been or is to be published by or on behalf of the candidate during the campaign period; and | | (b) | thereafter at any time before any election advertising is published during the campaign period by or on the candidate’s behalf on any other platform maintained by or on behalf of the candidate on the Internet, a declaration containing the particulars (as described in paragraph (3)) of that platform. |
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(3) A declaration under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) in respect of a platform must contain sufficient particulars of the platform to enable the Returning Officer —| (a) | where the platform is accessible by the general public, to access the platform; or | | (b) | where the platform is not accessible by the general public (such as, but not limited to, electronic mail groups, groups on electronic media applications, groups on social networking services, SMS groups or MMS groups), to identify the person who maintains the platform. |
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| (4) When any declaration under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) is received by the Returning Officer, he must without delay ensure that the declaration is open for inspection (without charge) at all reasonable hours of the day until the close of the poll in Singapore. |
(5) To avoid doubt, in this regulation —| (a) | “candidate” does not include a candidate who has been declared elected under section 15(1) of the Act; | | (b) | a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained or published by or on behalf of a candidate includes a reference to anything that is or is to be maintained or published by the candidate either alone or as part of a group of persons; | | (c) | a reference to the publishing of an election advertising includes a reference to the publishing of anything that contains the election advertising; and | | (d) | a declaration that is required to be given to the Returning Officer under paragraph (2)(a) or (b) is to be regarded as so given only when it is actually received by the Returning Officer. |
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| Returning Officer’s directions |
1F.—(1) The Returning Officer or any person so authorised by him may issue a written direction to any candidate or the candidate’s election agent —| (a) | to remove or prohibit any election advertising that has been published by or on behalf of the candidate in contravention of regulation 1C or 1D; | | (b) | to remove any election advertising that has been published by or on behalf of the candidate in contravention of regulation 1E(1); or | | (c) | to give to the Returning Officer, in such form and manner as the Returning Officer may require, a declaration containing the particulars (as described in regulation 1E(3)) of the platform on which the election advertising has been published by or on behalf of the candidate in contravention of regulation 1E(1). |
| (2) On receipt of any written directions under paragraph (1), the candidate or his election agent, as the case may be, must immediately comply with the written directions. |
| (3) To avoid doubt, in this regulation, a declaration that is required to be given to the Returning Officer under paragraph (1)(c) is to be regarded as so given only when it is actually received by the Returning Officer. |
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| 1G. If any doubt arises as to whether a candidate or an election agent has used his best efforts to comply with the provisions of this Part, the candidate or election agent, as the case may be, is to be treated as having used his best efforts if the candidate or election agent, as the case may be, satisfies the Returning Officer that he took all reasonable steps in the circumstances.”. |
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