Josephine Teo declares Gutzy Asia’s website and social media accounts as ‘Declared Online Locations’ under POFMA

Mrs Josphine Teo, the Minister for Communications and Information, on Tuesday (11 June) declared Gutzy Asia’s website and its social media pages on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) as Declared Online Locations (DOLs), effective from 12 June under The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).

This declaration will remain in effect for two years until 11 June 2026.

During this period, Gutzy’s website and social media pages must display a notice informing visitors about the declaration.

While Gutzy’s online platforms are not required to cease operations, they must comply with statutory requirements outlined in Part 5 of POFMA.

This includes the de-monetization of the platforms to prevent operators from profiting from the dissemination of falsehoods.

To be marked as a DOL, at least three false statements must have been communicated through the online location within the six months preceding its designation.

The declaration is in response to the following POFMA directions within the past six months:

• 15 February 2024 — An article reporting on a Facebook post by Progress Singapore Party NCMP Leong Mun Wai about the financial status and assistance received by two residents.
• 18 February 2024 — An article reporting on a Facebook post by Reform Party chief Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam about the properties at 26 and 31 Ridout Road rented by Minister for Home Affairs and Law Mr Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. The POFMA office acknowledged that Gutzy was issued the POFMA direction because the article included the URL link to his social media post and not that it had repeated it.

Key stipulations during the declaration period include:

• Prohibition of Financial Benefit: It is an offence for Gutzy or its operators to derive financial or other material benefits from operating the DOLs.
• Obligations of Service Providers and Digital Advertising Intermediaries: They must take reasonable steps to ensure that the paid content on Gutzy’s platforms is not communicated in Singapore.
• Prohibition of Financial Support: Individuals and companies are prohibited from providing financial support to Gutzy’s DOLs if they know or have reason to believe that it would contribute to the dissemination of falsehoods in Singapore.

Besides Gutzy Asia’s website and social media pages, nine other online locations are listed on the POFMA Office’s website. Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s social media pages, The Ricebowl Singapore website, and The Online Citizen Asia’s platforms were declared DOLs from 22 July 2023 to 11 December 2025.