TJC halts operations all online platforms until Dec 2026 after POFMA declaration
The Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) has announced that it will cease operations of its website and social media platforms temporarily.
On 20 Dec 2024, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office designated TJC’s online platforms, including its website and accounts on Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok, as “Declared Online Locations” (DOLs).
As a result, the collective will not be able to receive financial or material benefits from these platforms for two years.
This will be in effect until 20 Dec 2026.
TJC issued 5 POFMA correction directions
An Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) spokesperson told MS News that TJC received the declaration due to its “history of communicating multiple falsehoods from August to December 2024”.
During that period, TJC was issued five correction directions for multiple falsehoods about issues relating to capital punishment in Singapore.
Each of its online platforms was declared as a DOL as they carried at least three different false statements of fact.
Additionally, these statements were communicated in Singapore within six months before 20 December 2024.
MDDI said the declaration does not require TJC to cease operations of its online platforms.
It does, however, require each of its online platforms to carry a notice to alert viewers that it has been declared as a DOL, that it had communicated multiple falsehoods, and that viewers should exercise caution when accessing it for information, said the spokesman.
Operators of a DOL are also not allowed to receive financial or other material benefit from operating the DOL, to prevent operators of DOLs from profiting off falsehoods.
Suspension to protect members and donors from criminal prosecution
In its statement published on 21 Jan, TJC claimed that the DOL directive carries significant legal implications.
It says that any work towards operating or maintaining these platforms, as well as publishing content on them, could expose TJC and its members to “criminal liability”.
Moreover, donors supporting the collective’s work on these platforms could also face prosecution, it added.
In light of these consequences, TJC decided to suspend operations of its platforms until Dec 2026.
Necessary move to protect members and supporters
The organisation described the move as a decision made with “a very heavy heart”, but necessary to protect its members and supporters.
TJC, known for its advocacy against the death penalty, drug policy reform, and issues around policing, prisons, and courts, lamented the impact this suspension will have on its ability to share information.
It has also been a platform for amplifying the voices of death row prisoners, their families, and other marginalised communities.
Despite the operational pause, the collective vowed to continue its advocacy through other means and promised to resume the use of the affected platforms in Jan 2027.
Also read: Bloomberg issued POFMA order over S’pore GCB transactions article, Govt addresses ‘falsehoods’
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Featured image adapted from TJC on Facebook and Lianhe Zaobao for illustration purposes only.
