This document summarizes key legal issues related to social media and publicity in Singapore. It begins by defining social media and its value as a publicity tool. It then outlines several legal issues: freedom of speech restrictions; defamation laws; sedition acts; intellectual property laws around copyright and trademark infringement; and MDA guidelines for internet content. Throughout, it provides examples of relevant cases and discusses how to exercise freedom of speech prudently as well as avoid infringing on intellectual property or violating media guidelines when using social media for publicity.

1. Legal Issues Concerning
Social Media and Publicity

2. What is Social Media?
• Refers to web-based platforms, which foster
interaction, discussion, and community.
• Examples:
– Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (networking)
– Flickr, Tumblr, Youtube (photos & videos)
– Blogs (articles)
• Powerful publicity tool because:
– Outreach
– Low cost
– Instantaneous
– Fewer restrictions and regulations

3. • Freedom of Speech
– Defamation
– Sedition Act
• Intellectual Property Infringement
– Copyright Infringement
– Trademark Infringement
• MDA Guidelines
– Broadcasting (Class License) Notification
– Internet Code of Practice
Relevant Legal Issues

4. Freedom of Speech
• Every citizen of Singapore has the right to
freedom of speech and expression.
• BUT, Parliament may impose restrictions on the
freedom of speech in the interest of:
– Singapore’s security;
– Maintaining friendly ties with other countries;
– Public order or morality;
– Protecting privileges of Parliament;
– Preventing defamation.
(Art. 14 Constitution of Singapore)

5. • How should the Freedom of Speech be
exercised in the political arena?
– Conservatively
• Speech perceived as dangerous will be stubbed out.
– Deferentially
• Government is superior to the people.
• Government’s authority will be diminished if it is
constantly exposed to censure.
– In an Issue-Centric Manner
• Governed by facts; not assertions and emotions.
Freedom of Speech

6. • Defamation actions taken to protect reputation.
– Concept of government by honourable men.
– False allegations threaten moral authority.
– Leads to weak government and political instability.
• Political speech is not privileged in Singapore.
• Aggravated damages for public figures.
– In Tan Liang Hong v. Lee Kuan Yew, the Court of
Appeal awarded LKY $2m in damages.
• Avoid publishing material critical of a
politician’s character if no concrete evidence.
Defamation

7. • Sedition Act commonly used to police rascist
and anti-religious comments.
• Public Prosecutor v. Benjamin Koh
• Posted anti-Muslim and anti-Malay content on blog.
• Sparked off over 2000 comments, with racist
exchange to and fro.
• Charged under the Sedition Act for promoting feelings
of ill-will and hostility between various races.
• Published material must be racially and
religiously sensitive.
Sedition Act

8. • Intellectual Property refers to creations of the
mind, such as:
– Inventions (patents),
– Artistic, literary, and musical works (copyright), and
– Names, signs, and symbols (trademarks).
• Significant risk of committing copyright and
trademark infringement in the course of
publicity.
Intellectual Property

9. • Copyright owner’s exclusive rights include:
– Reproducing the work, and
– Communicating the work to the public.
• Right to make the work available on a network.
(s. 26(1) Copyright Act)
• Possibly infringing acts:
– Article reproduction
– Photo usage
– Music usage
Copyright Infringement

10. • Seek license to use copyrighted work.
– Copyright is only infringed when one uses the work
without the copyright holder’s authorization.
(s. 31(1) Copyright Act)
• Produce salient parts of the copyrighted work
(with acknowledgment) in a critique/review.
(s. 36 Copyright Act)
• Provide link to copyrighted work, instead of
reproducing it.
• Self-creation
Avoiding Copyright Infringement

11. • “Use in the course of trade” is a necessary
requirement for trademark infringement.
(s. 27 Trade Marks Act)
• If publicity is not sales-related, trademark
infringement becomes impossible.
• However, non-sales-related usage of a
trademark is still subject to copyright law.
Trademark Infringement

12. • MDA is responsible for ensuring that all internet
content providers in Singapore do not broadcast
content that:
– Compromises public interest, order, or security;
– Goes against national harmony; and
– Offends against good taste or decency.
• All political parties registered in Singapore, which
provide content on the internet have to be
licenses.
(s. 3 Schedule to Broadcasting (Class License) Notification)
• Internet Code of Practice applies to all licensees.
MDA Guidelines

13. Internet Code of Practice
• Prohibited materials include that which:
– Depict nudity and genitalia calculated to titillate;
– Depict sexual violence or non-consensual sex;
– Depict explicit sexual activity;
– Depict homosexualism, lesbianism, and unnatural
sex;
– Depict detailed or relished acts of cruelty/violence;
– Glorify, incite, or endorse ethnic, racial or religious
hatred.
(s. 4 Internet Code of Practice)

14. • How do we discharge our obligations under the
Code?
– By ensuring our content does not contain prohibited
content.
– By ensuring content contributed by invited persons
does not contain prohibited content.
– By policing private discussion fora hosted on our
site/page (e.g. chat groups).
– Taking down content if directed to do so.
• Obligations only apply if we have editorial control.
(s. 3 Internet Code of Practice)
Internet Code of Practice

15. • Many issues pertaining to social media and
publicity are not strictly of a legal nature.
• Non-legal issues may be just as problematic.
• Explore other forms of social media apart
from facebook.
Moving Forward

16. Questions?
Prepared by Natalie Yap