PARLIAMENTARY HEARING
Singapore squares up to human rights group over ‘fake news’
Singapore — Singapore invited Human Rights Watch on Wednesday to give evidence at a parliamentary hearing on fake news as a dispute grew between the group and the city state. A parliamentary committee in Singapore is reviewing measures to prevent "deliberate online falsehoods", mirroring efforts in various countries to tackle false information amid growing questions about the influence of internet companies. Activists worry that laws aimed at fake news could be used to stifle free speech. Vikram Nair, a member of the ruling People’s Action Party, said this week that Human Rights Watch had in a recent report used "clearly false" examples to further its agenda and undermine public discourse. In its report, the rights group called on Singapore to amend or repeal laws that it said were too broadly worded and were used to "arrest, harass and prosecute critical voices", including a Sedition Act and Public Order Act. The group, which is based in New York, cited several examples including a...
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