Singapore can now issue guidelines for social media platforms to block local access to what it considers “egregious” content. The new regulations also make it possible to cut off access to these sites if the operators refuse to comply with the directive.
Effective February 1, the Online Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act allows industry regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to order “online communication services” to disable local access to content detrimental.
This includes, among others, content advocating or instructing on physical violence and terrorism, as well as content that poses risks to public health in Singapore, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said.
First proposed in parliament last October and passed the following month, the law introduces a section into the Broadcasting Act that allows online communication services to be regulated. For now, only social media services are specified and subject to the provisions described in the new section.
If instructed to disable access, social media platforms are supposed to do so by blocking the “content feed” from a specific source, such as an account, group, or channel, that feeds the content. obvious on their site.
Operators of online communication services that have received such directives must comply with them or incur possible fines. They also risk having access to their services blocked locally, with the law allowing IMDA to order ISPs to block access in the event of non-compliance.
The IMDA may also identify online communication services with “significant reach or impact” as platforms falling under the regulated section. They must then comply with codes of practice which may require them to implement systems and processes to “mitigate the risk of harm” to online users in Singapore in the event of exposure to harmful content.
IMDA has drafted a code of practice for online safety for social media platforms, which is expected to be implemented in the second half of the year. This includes the need to provide users with access to tools that allow them to manage their own safety as well as minimize their exposure to unwanted interactions on the social media platform. The Code points to tools that restrict the visibility of harmful or unwanted content and limit the visibility of the user’s account.
Under the proposed code, online communications service providers face a maximum fine of S$1 million for non-compliance.
When the Online Safety Act came up in parliament last October, questions were raised about what constituted ‘blatant’ content and the impact of the law on user privacy and freedom of expression. . Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo then noted that in cases where the content might be more difficult to define clearly, IMDA would assess the context.
While acknowledging that there were “legitimate privacy concerns”, Teo said the proposed code of practices would provide users with recourse such as user reporting mechanisms.