Singapore: Entry into force with grace period of Singapore Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act containing content monitoring regulation

On 29 October 2021, the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act is published in the official gazette of Singapore. The Act will enter into force on a date that the Minister for Home Affairs will announce in the official gazette. The Act enables the Minister for Home Affairs to request information from online services (social media services, relevant electronic services, internet access services, personal websites, blogs or social media pages) to determine if harmful communications are being pursued with a foreign mandate. In response to claims that certain content is influenced by a foreign actor, the Act enables the Minister to require online services to remove pieces of content or implement corrections through the substitution of the pieces of content with alternative declarations.