Singapore moves to ban deepfakes of election candidates

The IMDA is also set to guide social media on addressing such content.

Singapore is pushing to ban the use of deepfakes depicting candidates running for an election.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) has introduced the Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on 9 September 2024.

The bill proposes to “prohibit the publication of digitally generated or manipulated online election advertising (OEA) that realistically depicts a candidate saying or doing something that he or she did not in fact say or do,” the MDDI said in a statement posted on its website.

The prohibition will only apply to persons who are running as candidates for an election.

Beyond the elections, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is reportedly set to introduce a new code of practice to prevent and counter the abuse of digitally manipulated content in social media.

IMDA will reportedly talk with social media service providers in the coming months to work on the details of the code. 

Malicious deepfakes
Deepfakes are hyper-realistic audio, video, or image-based content generated or manipulated by AI technology.

In its statement, the MDDI said that it has observed a worrying trend of malicious deepfakes, including those used for scams and extortion.

“Deepfakes are a particularly concerning form of misinformation because they can realistically depict the appearance, voice, or action of an individual in a manner which can deceive or mislead the public,” the MDDI said.

If unaddressed, deepfakes that misrepresent candidates during elections can threaten the integrity of Singapore’s electoral process, it added.

Prohibitions
Under MDDI’s proposed bill, authorities can order individuals, social media services, and Internet Access Service Providers to take down offending content, or to disable access by Singapore users to such content during the election period. 

Failure to comply with the corrective direction is an offence. This is punishable by a fine, or imprisonment, or both on conviction.

Candidates may request authorities to review content that they believe are deepfakes, and request to issue corrective directions. 

The opposite will also be true: it will be illegal for candidates to knowingly make a false or misleading declaration in a request about the content. 

Candidates who do this can be fined or may even be made to vacate the election, the MMDI said.