Suggest a correction

In the RTA, after section 101, insert —“Advertising unlawful ride-hail service101A.—

A person commits an offence if —

the person publishes in Singapore, or causes or authorises to be published in Singapore, any advertisement that promotes, or can reasonably be regarded as intended to promote, the use of a vehicle as a public service vehicle to provide a ride‑hail service;

the use of the vehicle as such contravenes section 101(1); and

the person knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the use of the vehicle as such contravenes section 101(1).

A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

In this section and section 101B —

without limiting the definition of “publish” in subsection (4) —

any advertisement is taken to be published electronically by an end‑user of an electronic service if the end‑user —

causes the advertisement to be accessible to;

forwards the advertisement to; or

shares the advertisement with,any other end‑user or end‑users of the electronic service, on or by the electronic service; and

any advertisement that was published before and by electronic means so as to be accessible from the Internet, is taken to be published again on each day that any subsequent step is taken on that day to amplify the access to the advertisement from the Internet by any person;

an advertisement that is published electronically is treated as published in Singapore if —

the advertisement originates in Singapore, even if none of the persons capable of having access to the advertisement is physically present in Singapore; or

all of the following apply in respect of the advertisement:

the advertisement did not originate in Singapore, or the advertisement’s origin cannot be determined;

the advertisement is published or caused to be published by a Singapore‑connected person or the Singapore‑connected person takes part in that publication;

the advertisement is accessible by persons physically present in Singapore; and

the ways in which a person may publish an advertisement in Singapore include, but are not limited to —

printing the advertisement in a physical document (including a leaflet, ticket or brochure) and making the document available, or distributing the document, to the public or a section of the public in Singapore; and

displaying, screening or playing the advertisement in a film or video at any premises or place so that it can be seen or heard by the public or a section of the public in Singapore.

In this section and section 101B —“advertisement” means every form of advertisement, regardless of whether the advertisement is —

directed to the public at large; or

communicated to a particular individual or group of individuals;“premises or place” means any premises or place in Singapore;“publish” means to make available to the public or a section of the public, in whatever form and by whatever means, and “publication” is to be construed accordingly;“Singapore‑connected person” means —

a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore;

an individual in Singapore;

a company or other body corporate incorporated in, or having a commercial or physical presence in, Singapore; or

an unincorporated body established in Singapore,and includes any person or persons constituting or responsible for the management of a person referred to in paragraph (c) or (d).Power to issue directions against advertisement of unlawful ride‑hail service101B.—

If a person (A) publishes or authorises or causes an advertisement to be published in contravention of section 101A(1)(a) and (b), the Authority may do either or both of the following:

issue a written direction to A requiring A, within the period specified in the written direction to do any or all of the following:

stop any further publication of the advertisement;

remove or cause to be removed the publication of the advertisement;

publish, or authorise or cause the publication of, a corrective advertisement in any manner and containing any information that may be specified by the Authority;

if the advertisement is published on the Internet — to take such measures as may be reasonable and necessary in the circumstances to disable access by end‑users in Singapore to the advertisement;

if the advertisement is published on an online platform and A is not the operator of the online platform — issue a written direction to the operator requiring the operator to provide any information on A to the Authority within the period specified in the written direction, if the Authority reasonably believes that the operator has that information.

The person to whom a written direction under subsection (1) is given must bear the costs and expenses arising from the taking of any measure that is required of the person under the direction.

Before giving any written direction under subsection (1), the Authority must, unless the Authority considers that it is not practicable or desirable to do so, give written notice to the person to whom the Authority proposes to issue the direction —

stating that the Authority proposes to issue the direction and setting out its effect; and

specifying the time within which representations or objections to the proposed direction may be made.

In addition to subsection (3), before giving any written direction under subsection (1)(a), the Authority must have regard, and give any weight that the Authority considers appropriate, to all of the following matters:

whether the advertisement mentioned in subsection (1) is accessible by end‑users in Singapore;

the volume of viewers accessing the advertisement mentioned in subsection (1);

the technical feasibility of complying with the written direction.

A person who fails to comply with any requirement specified in a written direction issued under subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —

to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and

in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.

The provision of information by the operator of an online platform to the Authority in compliance with a written direction given by the Authority under subsection (1)(b) is not a breach of —

any obligation of confidentiality; or

any prohibition or restriction in respect of the disclosure of the information,that is imposed under any written law, rule of law or contract.

In this section, “online platform” means any social media platform, Internet application, website or web service that allows a person to advertise, by electronic means, the use of a vehicle as a public service vehicle to provide a ride‑hail service.”.