Mr Singh, a partner with Clifford Chance Asia, said that"legitimate concerns remain" despite the Government’s assurances to allay fears that the Bill would curtail free speech.Two key preconditions to exercise the extensive powers under the Bill, a"false statement of fact" and a minister's subjective determination of the"public interest", are both very widely defined, he said.
“These requirements set a very low bar for a minister's exercise of the extensive powers under the Bill,” he said.to Mr Singh that the powers to be given to the Government under the Bill, and the public interest grounds on which the Government can exercise its powers, “are actually narrower than the Government’s existing powers”., Ms Teo agreed with his view that the proposed law is a “more measured and calibrated approach” by the Government to the problem of fake news.
Agreeing, Ms Teo said this has been overlooked by some commentators. “The Bill does seek to scope down and calibrate the Government's powers in key areas,” she noted.Mr Singh also pointed out that"while the Bill is not intended to apply to opinions and criticisms, it is often difficult to differentiate statements of opinion and statements of fact”.
She agreed with what Mr Omar said in that the Bill proposes greater oversight for the courts than currently under existing laws. “The Bill expressly defines a ‘statement of fact’ as ‘a statement which a reasonable person seeing, hearing or otherwise perceiving it would consider to be a representation of fact’. It is an objective standard that applies, not the minister’s subjective view,” he said, adding that the distinction between fact and opinion is one that the courts have dealt with and refined in many decisions over the years.
By putting some boundaries on these wide powers and requiring that orders made under the Bill are proportionate, the courts would have a greater latitude of supervision over a minister’s orders, he said.
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