Facebook's Singapore users can no longer access the National Times Singapore page after the social media network complied with the government's orders to block the page.

The Singapore government deemed the page to have contained false statements.

In response to complying with the demand, Facebook expressed its concern and called the order “severe”, in its June 1 statement.

The statement also said that Facebook was was “legally compelled” to restrict access to the National Times Singapore Facebook page for Singapore users.

It was issued orders by the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) office on May 30 to disable access.

“Blocking orders like this are severe and risk being misused to stifle voices and perspectives on the internet. Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and we work hard to protect and defend this important civil liberty around the world,” Facebook said in its statement.

No longer accessible

The National Times Singapore Facebook page was not accessible on June 1.

It remains accessible for users outside of Singapore.

The order to block the the National Times Singapore Facebook page came after the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said the page had communicated at least three false statements of fact.

The Pofma office comes under MCI.

What happened

National Times Singapore was notified on May 28 that it had been designated as a Declared Online Location (DOL), in relation to a post it had published on May 15.

The National Times Singapore Facebook page was then required to carry a notice stating that it has been declared a DOL.

Visitors to the page will be warned through the notice that the page has a history of communicating falsehoods.

The declaration will also make it an offence for the page's owner to receive any benefits from operating the Facebook page.

The provision of financial support to it is also prohibited.

Alex Tan's repeated Facebook page creation

The page's owner is Alex Tan, who claims to be an Australian living in Australia.

Tan has never complied with any instructions to put up the notice.

The government subsequently issued a disabling order to Facebook on May 30.

This is the fourth Facebook page operated by Tan to be subjected to a disabling order.

Previous pages blocked

The States Times Review Facebook page was designated a DOL on Feb. 16.

Singapore States Times (SST) and Tan's own page were designated DOLs on May 6.

After each disabling, Tan returned with a new page almost immediately.