Boogeymen
SINGAPORE
The Singaporean parliament approved a bill this week that will give authorities broad powers to tackle foreign interference even as critics and civil rights advocates express concern about the legislation’s expansive reach and limits on judicial review, Reuters reported.
Known as the Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act (FICA), the bill would allow the country’s home affairs minister to force internet and social media service providers to provide user data, block content and remove applications.
Individuals designated as “politically significant persons” will also be ordered to comply with the strict rules relating to donations and declare any links to foreign entities.
The contentious legislation also sets up an independent tribunal chaired by a judge that will hear appeals against the minister’s decision. The tribunal’s decisions will be final, the BBC noted.
The government says the new rules will not affect Singaporeans expressing their opinions or engaging in activism, or foreigners or publications “reporting or commenting on Singapore politics in an open, transparent and attributable way.”
Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said the bill was the “best balance … between dealing with the risks and providing checks against abuse.”
Critics, however, warned that the text’s broad language risks capturing legitimate activities and could be used to target independent media outlets.
The bill comes two years after Singapore passed another far-reaching law that targets fake news.
The small city-state became the latest country to pass foreign interference laws, following Russia and Australia.
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