Singapore passes foreign interference countermeasures bill

Illustrative image (Photo: straitstimes.com)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Parliament of Singapore on October 4 passed the Foreign Interference Countermeasures Bill (FICA) to control activities on the Internet by blocking contents.

With 75 votes for and 11 against, the bill was introduced for the first time in Singapore about three years ago. But three weeks ago, it was tabled for discussion at the parliament.

Singapore Minister of Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam said Singapore needs this law to prevent, detect and disrupt the use of hostile information campaigns and local proxies by foreign entities intending to interfere in domestic politics.

The law will allow authorities to compel Internet service providers and social media platforms to provide user information, block and remove applications used to spread contents they deem hostile./.