Written by: Haim Ravia, Dotan Hammer
Singapore is taking decisive steps to regulate online harm with the introduction of a new online safety bill. This legislation aims to create a new online safety commission empowered to impose significant restrictions on social media platforms and internet service providers (ISPs).
The introduction of the new law was prompted by a study from the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority, which revealed that most legitimate user complaints about harmful content were not immediately addressed.
Under the new online safety bill, the commission will gain powers to address local user reports concerning several specific harms and will have the authority to order internet access providers to block access to harmful sites and to provide victims with a right of reply. The new body is expected to be operational by the first half of 2026.
The bill builds on the Online Criminal Harms Act, which took effect in February 2024. Under that law, the government recently issued its first order against Meta, warning it of potential fines for failing to address impersonation scams on Facebook.
Click here to read the Singapore Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill.
