Singapore’s Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Act: Key Provisions & Penalties

1. Overview

The Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Act, enacted in October 2024 in Singapore, establishes a clear prohibition against publishing, sharing, promoting, or reposting deepfake content featuring election candidates during the crucial election period.

2. Scope of the Law

Digital Manipulation or manipulated content that truly represents a candidate saying or doing what they did not say is the target of the Act. It extends to online election ads from the date the writ of election is moved until the day the polls are closed. Inoffensive manipulations like animated characters, beauty filters, or memes which do not mislead, harm, or interfere with public order are illustrations of exceptions.

3. Key Provisions

• Forbidden Acts: Posting, sharing, or re-posting online election ads that use political deepfakes or other Generative AI content that misleadingly presents a candidate’s identity, opinions, or behavior is illegal. This type of content must be realistic enough for individuals to accept it.
• Platform Obligations: Social media platforms and Internet access providers have a duty to comply with the Returning Officer’s correction orders to remove or suspend access to disallowed material and election deepfakes during the election period.

4. Penalties & Enforcement

The Act provides for penalties of a maximum SGD 1,000 fine, a maximum 12-month prison term, or both. Social media platforms and individuals who ignore corrective instructions may face up to SGD 1 million in fines. The Returning Officer is empowered to issue corrective instructions to platforms and individuals.

5. Notable Cases or Precedents

The enactment of this Act was necessitated by actual-life cases of deepfake material surfacing during elections, emphasizing the need for this legislation as a matter of urgency. One such example that brought out this need was the discovery of a deepfake video of then-President Halimah Yacob going viral online.

6. Comparison to Global Standards

Singapore’s law treats deepfakes in elections more specifically than international standards. Singapore’s Act provides clear definitions and penalties related to deepfakes in the electoral context, while the US and EU’s AI Acts have varying laws.

7. Practical Implications

Producers of deepfake content ought to understand that they are likely to face legal consequences if they post such content during an election. The Returning Officer is the one who victims of deepfake abuse can report the abuse to. Furthermore, Platforms should implement policies that will enable them to identify and remove prohibited content expeditiously.

8. Future Prospects

In the future, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will issue a Code of Practice that mandates social media firms to adopt stringent policies to prevent and counter the abuse of digitally faked content even beyond election seasons, which shows a continued resolve in combating this new form of challenge.