Responsibility of Social Media Platforms and Internet Service Providers in Addressing Fake News

Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for Law (a) how does the Government identify and define what is fake news; and (b) what role does the Government envisage social media platforms and Internet service providers to play in addressing fake news.

At the Sitting on 3 April 2017, I explained in this House how "fake news" results in serious consequences for individuals and for society. There is no shortage of examples both locally and overseas of "fake news" being circulated, especially on social media platforms and private messaging services. The examples which I previously cited from the websites States Times Review and All Singapore Stuff were completely fabricated and passed off as facts.

The focus is not on trivial factual inaccuracies, but falsehoods that can cause real harm. Fake news does not benefit Singapore society in any way. Instead, it benefits those who profit commercially from their publication, supports those who undermine our public institutions or facilitates foreign interference in our domestic politics.

We consider social media companies to be important in the fight against fake news.

Internationally, social media companies have been placed under intense scrutiny in recent months in the context of dissemination of fake news and other illegal content on their platforms.

Social media platforms have become the primary distribution network for fake news. Because fake news can be repeatedly shared by users of social media platforms, without any need for verification of their truth or falsity, fake news is circulated at an alarming rate on these platforms.

Social media platforms also generate a high volume of traffic for fake news websites. This translates into significant advertising revenue for the owners of these websites, which, in turn, provides a strong economic incentive to create fake news.

In a manifesto published in February 2017, Facebook's Chief Executive Officer Mr Mark Zuckerberg said, and I quote, "Accuracy of information is very important. We know there is misinformation and even outright hoax content on Facebook, and we take this very seriously. We have made progress fighting hoaxes the way we fight spam, but we have more work to do."

Some countries, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, have said that media companies can do more to combat the fake news problem.

The Government will continue to monitor developments in the social media industry both locally and internationally as part of our review.

In line with the holistic approach I have outlined, the Government will also consider whether and how Internet service providers can play a part in addressing the fake news problem. We shall announce the findings of our review in due course.