Singapore to introduce Online Criminal Harms Act amid ‘growing international consensus’ for such laws: MHA

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will table new legislation later this year to better tackle crimes committed in cyberspace, said Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo in Parliament on Monday (Feb 27).

If passed by Parliament, the proposed Online Criminal Harms Act will grant the Government powers to stop or remove online communications that pave the way for crimes in the physical world, such as inciting violence.

The Act is aimed at closing the gaps left by the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, which came into force in 2019, as well as the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act that was passed in Parliament in 2021.

Mrs Teo, who was speaking during the Committee of Supply debates, further noted that the Broadcasting Act was recently amended to “deal with harms that impact user safety, such as cyberbullying and content likely to undermine racial and religious harmony”.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority is now able to deal with harmful online content accessible to Singapore users, regardless of where the content is hosted or initiated.

The Government can also block access to egregious content on online communications services, including social media platforms, Mrs Teo said.

“But there remain gaps. There is online content which are criminal in their own right, or content which facilitate or abet such crimes,” she added.

These crimes include syndicated ones like scams, online incitement of mass public disorder, and malicious cyber activities such as phishing and the distribution of malware.

“We have been monitoring these developments closely and intend to update our suite of legislation to better protect our people,” Mrs Teo told the House.

She pointed out that online harms are “constantly evolving and take different forms” such as falsehoods, foreign interference and inappropriate sexual abuse material, while mediums are also exploited to incite violence, carry out scams at scale and for drug trafficking.

She added that there has been “growing international consensus for rules to combat online harm”, with the United Kingdom, the European Union, Germany and Australia having introduced or proposed new laws to regulate the online space.

MHA first said during the Committee of Supply debates in 2021 that it was studying potential levers to deal with criminal offences committed online.

WHAT THE ACT WILL ENTAIL

Mrs Teo said the proposed Online Criminal Harms Act will build on current laws in three ways.

It will first “expand the scope of regulatory levers that we can apply to online criminal activities”. This includes powers to stop or remove online communications that facilitate crimes in the physical world, such as inciting violence, she added.

The proposed Act will also increase the scope of entities that the Government can act against, including all mediums of online communication through which criminal activities could be conducted.

Finally, the new legislation will introduce levers that deal more effectively with the nature of online criminal harms, said Mrs Teo.

“The new legislation will introduce upstream measures to detect and reduce them, such as safeguards against inauthentic accounts. This legislation will also apply to other malicious cyber activities like phishing,” she added.

She did not elaborate on when MHA will table the new legislation.

Mrs Teo said that the Government earns the public's trust by "enforcing laws in a fair and transparent manner, and by consistently delivering good safety and security outcomes".

"In the online space, the Government does not set out to dictate or curtail the adoption of technology or use of online platforms," she added.

"However, we have a duty to protect our citizens from online harms – the same way we deal with threats in the physical domain."

Speaking to Channel 5's News Tonight on Monday evening, she said: "I think Singaporeans would like to see better protection for themselves, and we intend to provide them with such."

On attracting specialised talent to support the Home Team's needs, including in tech, Mrs Teo pointed out that the public service mission is not something that another organisation can offer job seekers.

"It is going to be very challenging. In truth, for the public sector, we will probably never be able to match the private sector in terms of remuneration," she added. "But we do offer something quite unique, and that is a public service mission. 

"We are looking for people who are not just competent. We are looking for people who have the passion, who are interested in applying their creativity and innovation towards a public purpose."