Singapore orders Meta to widen anti-scam measures on Facebook
The order expands on an earlier directive issued to Meta, which owns Facebook, after scammers shifted to impersonating individuals who were previously not covered.
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SINGAPORE: The police have ordered Meta to widen measures to curb Facebook impersonation scams, expanding coverage to more government office holders and people at risk of impersonation.
Authorities first issued Meta, which owns Facebook, an implementation directive under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) last year, requiring it to implement measures such as facial recognition to curb such scams on Facebook.
Since then, the police have observed a drop in scams on Facebook involving impersonation of key government office holders covered under the directive, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday (Jan 29).
“However, scammers have since pivoted to impersonate people not covered under the first implementation directive,” it said in a press release.
The police issued a second implementation directive under the Act to Meta on Tuesday.
The order requires the social media conglomerate to implement enhanced facial recognition measures in Singapore and prioritise the review of end-user reports from Singapore.
The measures are aimed at reducing scam advertisements, accounts, profiles, and/or business pages impersonating government office holders in Singapore not covered under the first directive and people assessed by the police to be at high risk of impersonation.
“This includes impersonated persons for which police reports have been filed,” said MHA.
Meta must comply with the measures relating to government office holders by Jan 31, and those relating to individuals assessed to be of high risk of impersonation by Feb 28, the ministry added.
Meta is also required to implement facial recognition measures for notable Facebook users in Singapore in phases, with full implementation by Jun 30.
If Meta fails to comply with the order without reasonable excuse, it could face a fine of up to S$1 million (US$791,000).
For a continuing offence, it may also be liable to a further fine of up to S$100,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
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