In more detail
See our previous client alerts from October 2025, April 2025 and October 2024 tracking the government’s efforts to establish a new agency dedicated to online harms and the development and progress of the OSRA Bill, including its key provisions in our most recent alert.
The OSRA Bill was passed as drafted in the first reading, without amendment. Proposed amendments qualifying some of the provisions were voted down.
New OSC
The OSC is expected to be fully operational by mid-2026 and will cover 13 categories of online harms. The first tranche of online harms to be addressed covers online harassment, doxxing, online stalking, intimate image abuse and image-based child abuse.
The remaining categories of online harms cover online impersonation, inauthentic material abuse, online instigation of disproportionate harm, incitement of violence, incitement of enmity, publication of false material, publication of a statement harmful to reputation and nonconsensual disclosure of private information. These are expected to be implemented progressively at a later juncture.
The establishment of the OSC is part of a broader initiative by the Singapore government to address harmful online content, including through laws such as the Online Criminal Harms Act, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act and the Protection from Harassment Act.
The OSC is intended to be a “one-stop shop” for victims to obtain quick review and resolution of issues. Victims of the most severe harms are expected to be able to get help immediately; victims of other harms must first report to the relevant platform, and if there’s no response after 24 hours, they can contact the OSC.
The OSC will have powers to issue various binding directions to platforms, administrators of groups or pages, content communicators, internet service providers or app stores to take down harmful content, suspend offending accounts, disable access and allow the victim to post a reply. Failure to comply with the OSC’s directions or orders may constitute an offense liable to severe penalties. For failure to comply with a direction, an individual may be liable to a fine of up to SGD 20,000 or imprisonment of up to 12 months (with potential ongoing fines for continuing offenses after conviction), or both; while an entity may be subject to a fine of up to SGD 500,000 and ongoing fines for continuing offenses. Similar penalties apply for noncompliance with the OSC’s orders (with a higher maximum fine for individuals than the maximum fine for failure to comply with a direction).
The OSC is expected to publish further guidelines to set out its scope and clarify the factors it may consider as part of its decision-making process.
Statutory torts for private enforcement
The OSRA Bill introduces statutory civil causes of action against entities for online harassment, doxxing, online stalking, intimate image abuse, online impersonation, inauthentic material abuse, online instigation of disproportionate harm and incitement of violence. Victims will be able to seek injunctive relief and compensatory damages.
To address the misuse of online anonymity, the OSC will also permit victims to apply for identity disclosures of anonymous perpetrators for the purposes of civil enforcement. If these applications are granted, the OSC will obtain user information from the platforms and may disclose this information to applicants, subject to certain conditions.
Key takeaways
The establishment of the OSC makes Singapore one of a few countries to create an agency dedicated to online harms, with inspiration and learnings being drawn from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner. Platforms are still intended to have an active role with respect to online safety, and the OSRA Bill heightens compliance obligations for platforms and online service operators.
The OSC’s powers and victims’ ability to seek remedies based on the statutory civil causes of action strengthen the legal remedies available to victims and consequences for noncompliance on perpetrators.
It remains to be seen how the OSC will deal with its initial caseload, what types of reports are made to the OSC and how any appeal processes will work. While likely still some time away, platforms and individuals should look out for the first directions, orders and enforcement actions made by the OSC.
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