Bill To Enhance Online Safety Passed In Parliament

• Published date: 06 December 2022
• Subject Matter: Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, IT and Internet, Social Media
• Law Firm: Rajah & Tann
• Author: Mr Rajesh Sreenivasan, Steve Tan, Benjamin Cheong, Lionel Tan and Tanya Tang

Introduction

On 9 November 2022, the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill ("Bill") was passed in Parliament. The Bill seeks to enhance the safety of digital spaces for Singapore users, particularly for children.

The Bill will introduce new regulations and obligations on the part of online communication services and internet access service providers, and will empower the Infocomm Media Development Authority ("IMDA") to issue orders blocking harmful content. In her speech at the second reading of the Bill in Parliament (available here), Minister for Communications and Information Mrs Josephine Teo indicated that the new regulations covering online communication services are currently intended to apply to social media services, which are viewed as a priority area due to the higher proportion of harmful online content on social media platforms.

The Bill will introduce a new Part 10A in the Broadcasting Act 1994, which empowers IMDA to better regulate online communication services accessible by Singapore end-users through the following measures: (i) issuing online Codes of Practice for providers of regulated online communication services; and (ii) issuing blocking directions to online communication services and internet access service providers to deal with "egregious content". With regard to the Codes of Practice, IMDA has also issued a draft Code of Practice for Online Safety ("Draft Code").

We have earlier issued a Legal Update on the first reading of the Bill in Parliament, available here, which covers the Bill in further detail. This Update provides a summary of the key provisions of the Bill and the Draft Code.

Code of Conduct

Part 10A empowers IMDA to issue online Codes of Practice applicable to providers of any regulated online communication service. A Code of Practice may provide for the following:

1. Requirements to establish and apply appropriate systems or processes to minimise risk;
2. Practical guidance in respect of what content should be covered;
3. The procedures to be followed to satisfy the duty to comply with the online Code of Practice;
4. Requirements for collaboration or cooperation by the provider with any conduct of research into its regulated online communication service by a suitable expert.

Draft Code

In line with the earlier-mentioned focus on social media services, IMDA has issued a draft Code of Practice for Online Safety ("Draft Code"), which sets out obligations that designated social media services ("Service") have to meet. The...