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SINGAPORE: Singapore has ordered Meta to disable access to social media posts showing a video of a man stepping on the Quran, believed to have taken place on a public bus in the country.<\/p>\n
While the original video is no longer available, it was reposted and shared on other social media platforms, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release on Sunday (Mar 8).<\/p>\n
Meta Platforms owns both Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n
MHA and the Singapore Police Force assessed that the content of the video constitutes an offence of insulting the religion of another person in Singapore under Section 17F(4) of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990.<\/p>\n
In view of the religiously offensive social media posts, the police issued Disabling Directions under the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023 (OCHA) to Meta to deal with the content.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have issued five Disabling Directions to Meta to disable access to the content, and the posts containing the video are no longer accessible to end-users in Singapore,\u201d said MHA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some individuals may have reposted the video to condemn the actions of the original poster, doing so perpetuates the offensive content online. Members of the public who come across such content are advised to inform the authorities instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police investigations are ongoing.<\/p>\n
MHA said it takes a strong stance against threats to Singapore\u2019s racial and religious harmony.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not tolerate such behaviour, and offenders will be dealt with swiftly and firmly,\u201d it added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n