Google Bans Political Ads In Singapore

The tech giant, Google has banned political parties in Singapore from uploading political ads on its platform, ahead of the country’s general elections.

The ban may not be unconnected to government’s alleged rules on fake news, which critics have said could be used to silence the voice of the people.

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The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, was passed by Singapore’s parliament on May 8, 2019, and the lawmakers said it was aimed at preventing the electronic communication of falsehood in the nation.

Google’s vice president for government affairs and public policy, Ted Osius, said the organization was aware of the new regulations, adding that banning political ads “was not an easy decision to make”, according to a copy of his letter posted by the Singapore Democratic Party.

But the Chairman of SDP, Paul Tambyah, in a letter to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai, said that the new policy was very disappointing.

The main opposition party’s leader stressed that his party depended on social media and the internet to communicate it’s plans and programmes to the people of Singapore.

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Brad Bowyer, a member of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), also said that the ban was very painful and he accused the tech giant of working for the government to the detriment of others.

In defense, Singapore’s Home Affairs and Law Minister, Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, had said that the bill is not against the opinion of citizens

“This legislation deals with false statement of fact. It doesn’t deal with opinion; it doesn’t deal with viewpoints. You can have whatever viewpoints, however reasonable or unreasonable,” he said.

According to BBC, critics say this new law puts too much power in the hands of the Singapore government, potentially threatening civil liberties.

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