Josephine Teo on Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill
The laws will be strengthened to enable the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to be a more effective "online firefighter". These include requiring social media companies to comply with codes of practice and minimise user exposure to harmful content. Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo, who outlined the key proposals in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 8), said as harmful content can be spread quickly via users' social connections, Singapore's rules need to evolve to address the "gaps" in the Broadcasting Act. She singled out online communication services, saying the entities controlling the biggest and most popular services or platforms accessible in Singapore operate from outside of the country, and fall outside the legal remit of the Broadcasting Act. Mrs Teo said Singapore is tackling the problems in an "accretive manner". Rather than take a big-bang approach with an all-encompassing law, Singapore will build on existing laws to introduce new ones so that over time, the foundations for digital safety become stronger. It will create a new part in the Broadcasting Act to regulate online communication services. For now, this will apply to social media services, as about three in five users from a Ministry of Communications and Information survey in June 2022 said they experienced harmful online content on social media platforms. This is the highest proportion compared with other platforms such as e-commerce sites, search engines and news sites. IMDA will be able to designate online communication services with significant reach or impact in Singapore, and require them to put in place measures to keep Singapore users safe. This approach is similar to regulating fire safety where building owners, occupiers and qualified persons must adhere to the SCDF’s Fire Code to keep their occupants safe, said Mrs Teo. Likewise, online communication services must have in place systems and processes to minimise Singapore users’ exposure to, and mitigate the impact of, harmful content on their platforms.
The laws will be strengthened to enable the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to be a more effective "online firefighter". These include requiring social media companies to comply with codes of practice and minimise user exposure to harmful content. Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo, who outlined the key proposals in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 8), said as harmful content can be spread quickly via users' social connections, Singapore's rules need to evolve to address the "gaps" in the Broadcasting Act. She singled out online communication services, saying the entities controlling the biggest and most popular services or platforms accessible in Singapore operate from outside of the country, and fall outside the legal remit of the Broadcasting Act. Mrs Teo said Singapore is tackling the problems in an "accretive manner". Rather than take a big-bang approach with an all-encompassing law, Singapore will build on existing laws to introduce new ones so that over time, the foundations for digital safety become stronger. It will create a new part in the Broadcasting Act to regulate online communication services. For now, this will apply to social media services, as about three in five users from a Ministry of Communications and Information survey in June 2022 said they experienced harmful online content on social media platforms. This is the highest proportion compared with other platforms such as e-commerce sites, search engines and news sites. IMDA will be able to designate online communication services with significant reach or impact in Singapore, and require them to put in place measures to keep Singapore users safe. This approach is similar to regulating fire safety where building owners, occupiers and qualified persons must adhere to the SCDF’s Fire Code to keep their occupants safe, said Mrs Teo. Likewise, online communication services must have in place systems and processes to minimise Singapore users’ exposure to, and mitigate the impact of, harmful content on their platforms.
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