Singapore Orders Meta to Implement Facial Recognition Measures to Combat Impersonation Scams

Singapore orders Meta to adopt facial recognition and anti-scam measures on Facebook, facing fines if it misses the end-of-month deadline.

The Singapore government has given Meta Platforms until the end of this month to introduce measures, including facial recognition technology, aimed at curbing impersonation scams on Facebook. The move comes amid rising concerns over scammers using the platform to impersonate government officials.

The Ministry of Home Affairs warned that Meta could face fines of up to S$1 million ($776,639) if it fails to comply “without reasonable excuse.” Additionally, the company could incur fines of up to S$100,000 for each day after the deadline that it remains non-compliant.

The directive, issued on Wednesday, follows an earlier police order this month requiring Meta to implement anti-scam measures against fake advertisements, accounts, profiles, and business pages impersonating key government office holders. That previous order did not specify a compliance deadline.

The ministry noted a marked increase in impersonation scams between June 2024 and June 2025, with scammers exploiting videos or images of government officials to create fraudulent content on Facebook.

“While Meta has taken steps to address the risk of impersonation scams globally, including in Singapore, the Home Affairs Ministry and the Singapore Police Force remain concerned by the prevalence of such scams in Singapore,” the ministry said in a statement.

This is the first enforcement order under Singapore’s Online Criminal Harms Act, which came into effect in February 2024, signalling the government’s intent to hold social media platforms accountable for online criminal activity.

Meta has yet to respond to a request for comment.