In more detail
The Minister of State of MDDI highlighted that Singapore shared the same objectives as Australia of protecting children and youths from the harms of social media access and that the MDDI was engaging its Australian counterparts and social media platforms to better understand their views.
The MDDI also highlighted its recent efforts to protect children on social media, including the introduction of the Code of Practice for Online Safety, which requires designated social media services to put measures in place to enhance the safety of Singapore users, particularly for children. These measures include having more restrictive account settings for children and providing tools for parents to manage their children's safety.
The MDDI also emphasised that it has taken decisive steps to require the implementation of age assurance methods to minimise children's access to harmful content. For instance, the upcoming Code of Practice for Online Safety for App Distribution Services will require designated app distribution services to put measures in place to establish the age or age range of a user with reasonable accuracy and ensure that children only access apps that are age-appropriate. You may refer to our client alert here for more details.
Key takeaways
Singapore has taken inspiration from Australia in its latest efforts to tackle online harms, including setting up an online safety centre to provide online harm victims with quicker assistance modelled after the Australia eSafety Commissioner. You may refer to our client alert here for more details.
A potential social media ban for children under 16 would also be part of a broader global trend to enhance protection for children on social media. For instance, countries such as France and some US states have enacted laws to restrict access for minors without parental permission.
If you wish to speak with us on any of the issues raised above, please reach out to us.
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