Professor David Tan comments on regulation of internet memes that may undermine racial and religious harmony

‘What’s in a meme? It is more than just a laugh’, The Straits Times, 27 December 2021, page B1: Professor David Tan, deputy director of the Centre for Technology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and the Law at NUS, said memes are generally “a harmless safety valve for citizens to vent their anger, frustration or discontent in this digital age”.

But he acknowledged the difficulty with managing them: “Internet memes which undermine racial and religious harmony can be a covert way of using humour to disguise one’s racist or xenophobic sentiments.”

But “invoking the law to punish one or two individuals will not defuse the issues as thousands more will continue to air their unhappiness in less obvious fora”, he added.