Singapore Strengthens Online Safety Measures for Young Users

According to The Straits Times, Big Tech social media platforms operating in Singapore will soon face new requirements to implement robust safeguards for teen users. These legislative changes, scheduled for early next year, aim to protect mental health through features like daily time limits, restrictions on infinite scrolling, autoplay functions, and direct messages from unknown individuals.

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The upcoming legislative amendments will facilitate the enforcement of these safety provisions. They will include mandatory age verification mechanisms. These measures are part of an ongoing national programme to secure the digital environment for all users, including young people.

And the Online Safety Commission, established last June, provides a primary avenue for victims of online harms. This commission operates under the authority of the Online Safety Relief and Accountability Act, which was enacted last Nov. It can instruct platforms and group administrators to remove harmful content, limit a perpetrator's online account, or permit a victim to post a rejoinder.

The commission initially addresses online harassment, doxing, online stalking, abuse involving intimate images, and abuse involving images of children. Its scope will broaden over time. This expansion includes online impersonation, manufactured material such as deepfakes, online instigation of disproportionate harm, incitement of violence and enmity, non-consensual sharing of private data, and the publication of false or reputationally damaging statements. Victims may submit reports via the OSC website.

But in 2023, the Code of Practice for Online Safety became effective. It compelled designated social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, TikTok, and HardwareZone, to address harmful content using community guidelines and content moderation policies. These platforms must provide reporting mechanisms easy for users and disallow specific features for children's accounts, such as advertisements or content suggestions detrimental to their physical or mental health. They are also required to proactively identify and remove egregious content, like child pornography and terrorism related material, submitting annual online safety reports to the Infocomm Media Development Authority, known as IMDA.

IMDA subsequently introduced the Code of Practice for Online Safety for App Distribution Services in 2025. This regulation obliges app stores in Singapore to screen applications and prevent individuals under 18 from downloading unsuitable content. By Apr. last year, these app stores implemented age verification processes. These checks involve facial recognition, government identity authentication, and credit card verification. Violations of this code can result in fines up to SGD 1 million, or 10 per cent of the firm's Singapore revenue, whichever is greater, as per the amended Broadcasting Act.

So the Broadcasting Act was also modified in 2022. This amendment granted IMDA the authority to order social media platforms to take down severely harmful content. Such content includes posts promoting suicide, self-harm, child sexual exploitation, terrorism, and material designed to incite racial or religious conflict.

The Online Criminal Harms Act, known as OCHA, passed in 2023, allows the Government to issue orders restricting Singapore users' exposure to criminal online activities. These directions can be issued to any online service provider, entity, or individual. This occurs when there is a reasonable suspicion that an online activity is connected to specific offences involving terrorism, internal security, racial and religious harmony, illegal moneylending, unlawful gambling, drugs, violence, and scams.

For scams and malicious cyber activities, the enforcement threshold is lower. Directions can be issued if there is merely suspicion that certain online activities are in preparation for such offences. The state can investigate and prosecute those who breach OCHA laws or the Penal Code. Punishments may include fines or imprisonment.

And the Protection from Harassment Act, or POHA, enacted in 2014, offers civil remedies. It aims to protect victims of harassment, stalking, cyberbullying, and similar acts, whether online or offline. Victims can pursue civil action in court for monetary damages and apply for a protection order to stop unwanted behaviour and communications. Courts can mandate the removal of online information deemed false or harassing. OSRAA expands the range of harms covered by POHA. It allows victims to address complaints directly with the OSC for swifter remedies.

• Social media platforms must implement safeguards for teens, including time limits and direct message restrictions, pending legislative changes early next year.

• The Online Safety Commission, empowered by the OSRAA, handles online harms like harassment, doxing, and intimate image abuse, with an expanding scope.

• The Code of Practice for Online Safety mandates content moderation, user friendly reporting, and bans on harmful features for children across designated platforms and app stores.

• The Online Criminal Harms Act allows the Government to restrict access to criminal online activities, with lower thresholds for scams and cyber activities.

• The Protection from Harassment Act offers civil remedies for harassment, with OSRAA expanding victims' access to swifter complaints via the OSC.

Source: The Straits Times