Targeted speech directions in Singapore

ABSTRACT

As public discourse moves online, Singapore’s Government has increasingly begun to regulate online speech via the use of Targeted Speech Directions, which are issued against statements or communications deemed to amount to fake news or foreign interference. This article maps the law on Targeted Speech Directions in Singapore, touching on three issues – the consistency of these Directions with constitutional theories of free speech, the extent of judicial oversight available and the applicable evidential rules in challenges brought to these Directions – which bear materially on how these Directions are used and their influence on the future Singaporean public discourse.

KEYWORDS:

• Targeted speech directions
• freedom of speech
• public discourse
• fake news, Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).