Meta must have facial recognition measures for notable Facebook users in S’pore or risk $1m fine
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The implementation directive under the Online Criminal Harms Act was issued on Jan 27.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Singapore issued a second Ocha directive to Meta on Jan 27, requiring enhanced facial recognition to combat impersonation scams.
- Meta must prioritise reviewing reports from Singapore, targeting accounts impersonating government officials and high-risk individuals by specific deadlines.
- This directive follows a previous one from September 2025; police noted scammers shifted tactics after the initial order saw a decrease.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – The police have issued a second order to Meta to target scammers on Facebook, which it must comply with or risk a fine of up to $1 million.
The implementation directive under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) was issued on Jan 27.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the second directive requires Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to implement enhanced facial recognition measures and prioritise the review of end-user reports from Singapore.
This is to reduce scam advertisements, accounts, profiles and business pages that impersonate two sets of people.
The first set includes government office-holders in Singapore who were not covered in the first directive
Meta must implement the measures for this set by Jan 31.
The second set covers people in Singapore whom the police have assessed to be at high risk of being impersonated, including those who have been impersonated and have filed police reports. Meta must implement the measures for this set by Feb 28.
It must also have facial recognition measures for notable Facebook users in Singapore to tackle impersonation scams in phases, with a full implementation by June 30.
Meta must adhere to the order or face the maximum $1 million fine, and in the case of a continuing offence, up to $100,000 daily.
The second implementation directive to Meta comes four months after the first one
That directive required Meta to implement measures to target scam advertisements, accounts, profiles and business pages impersonating those of key government office-holders on Facebook.
In response to queries, an MHA spokesman said that the police are still assessing Meta’s compliance with the first implementation directive and will provide an update when ready.
On Jan 29, MHA said the police saw a decrease in impersonation scams on Facebook after the first order, but that scammers then pivoted to impersonate people not covered under the first directive.
OCHA, which allows the Government to remove criminal content online, came into force in February 2024
Based on figures provided monthly by the police, there were more than 36,700 cases of scams reported
