Committee of Supply 2023 debate, Day 2: Josephine Teo on proposed Online Criminal Harms Act to strengthen digital social compact
The Ministry of Home Affairs will table new legislation later this year to better tackle crimes committed in cyberspace. 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. Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo, who announced this in Parliament on Monday (Feb 27), noted that gaps in the law remain, such as against online content which are criminal in their own right, or content which facilitate or abet such crimes. These crimes include syndicated ones like scams, online incitement of mass public disorder, as well as 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," she said. Mrs Teo said the proposed Online Criminal Harms Act builds on current laws in three ways. First, it will expand the scope of regulatory levers that can be applied to online criminal activities. This includes powers to stop or remove online communications that facilitate crimes in the physical world, such as inciting violence. Second, it will increase the scope of entities the Government can act against. It will cover all mediums of online communications through which criminal activities could be conducted. Third, it will introduce levers that deal more effectively with the nature of the online criminal harms. For example, given the scale and sophistication of scams and malicious cyber activities like phishing, the new legislation will introduce upstream measures to detect and reduce them, such as safeguards against inauthentic accounts. Mrs Teo said the Government has a duty to protect citizens from online harms in the same way it deals with threats in the physical domain.
The Ministry of Home Affairs will table new legislation later this year to better tackle crimes committed in cyberspace. 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. Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo, who announced this in Parliament on Monday (Feb 27), noted that gaps in the law remain, such as against online content which are criminal in their own right, or content which facilitate or abet such crimes. These crimes include syndicated ones like scams, online incitement of mass public disorder, as well as 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," she said. Mrs Teo said the proposed Online Criminal Harms Act builds on current laws in three ways. First, it will expand the scope of regulatory levers that can be applied to online criminal activities. This includes powers to stop or remove online communications that facilitate crimes in the physical world, such as inciting violence. Second, it will increase the scope of entities the Government can act against. It will cover all mediums of online communications through which criminal activities could be conducted. Third, it will introduce levers that deal more effectively with the nature of the online criminal harms. For example, given the scale and sophistication of scams and malicious cyber activities like phishing, the new legislation will introduce upstream measures to detect and reduce them, such as safeguards against inauthentic accounts. Mrs Teo said the Government has a duty to protect citizens from online harms in the same way it deals with threats in the physical domain.
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