Deepfakes and other forms of manipulated content of candidates will be banned during the Singapore elections. This is the result of the Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Bill being passed in parliament yesterday (Oct 15).
The new law prohibits publishing digitally generated or manipulated content that realistically depicts a candidate saying or doing something that he or she did not. This includes misinformation through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for deepfakes as well as non-AI techniques such as Photoshop, dubbing and splicing.
“It does not matter if the content is favourable or unfavourable to any candidate. The publication of such prohibited content during the election period, including by boosting, sharing and reposting existing content, will be an offence,” says Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo in her speech on Tuesday.
The new law will apply from the issuance of the Writ to the close of polling on Polling Day.
Candidates can request the returning officer to review the online election advertising content that may breach the prohibition and issue corrective directions to those who publish the content. Corrective actions include removing the offending content or disabling access to the content by Singapore users during the elections.
Those who fail to take the corrective actions within the specified period may be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to a year, or both. For social media services, they could face a fine of up to $1 million upon conviction.
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Exclusions
However, the new law will not extend to AI-generated or animated characters and cartoons, as well as cosmetic alterations like the use of beauty filters, or colour and lighting adjustments of images and videos. Entertainment content, such as memes that are unrealistic and do not mislead the audience, is also excluded from the prohibition.
Additionally, the ban will not apply to private or domestic communications shared between individuals or within a closed group like group chats with family or a small group of friends, in view of privacy, says Teo. It also excludes news published by authorised news agencies.
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The legislation, she adds, will provide a defence for a person who reshares messages and links without realising the content has been manipulated.
To deter abuse of the law such as candidates asking for the removal of unfavourable content that is a factual representation of their speech, it will be illegal to make a false or misleading declaration. Those convicted can be fined up to $2,000 and become ineligible to be elected as a Member of Parliament or as president.
“The bill is carefully calibrated… and a continuation of our principled approach towards the conduct of elections in Singapore. First, the bill addresses the most harmful, digitally generated and manipulated content, including deepfakes that can influence electoral outcomes, while recognising the value of novel content creation techniques and the desire of candidates to employ innovative methods to engage voters,” says Teo.
She continues: “Second, it applies only during the election period to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process and preserve space for fair and legitimate political discourse during the elections. Third, the safeguard applies to all candidates, regardless of political party and potential impact of that of the fake content.”
“[In summary,] the bill updates our suite of measures introduced over the years to address various forms of harmful online content during the election periods. [Beyond the periods,] existing content regulation tools, like POFMA, will continue to apply to certain types of AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes.”
