'Make redress easier under fake-news Bill'

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Charles Chong explained that a less onerous system will give the assurance that there are enough avenues to seek redress under the proposed Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill. PHOTO: ST FILE

It should be made easier for people to challenge in court a minister's order to correct or take down a post that has been deemed false by the Government.

That was the call from Deputy Speaker of Parliament Charles Chong, who explained that a less onerous system will give the assurance that there are enough avenues to seek redress under the proposed Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill, a legislation which aims to tackle the damage that the spread of fake news can cause.

Mr Chong said the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods, which he chaired last year, had highlighted the need for safeguards in the Bill to ensure the proper exercise of power. And this has been provided in the Bill, which lets people appeal to the courts.

He told The Sunday Times: "Fundamentally, the Government is not the judge, the jury and the prosecutor... the courts will be the final arbiter."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on April 07, 2019, with the headline 'Make redress easier under fake-news Bill'. Subscribe