Singapore to set up online safety commission in first half of 2026

In the first half of next year, Singapore will have a new commission dedicated to providing victims with timely help from online harms. 

The new agency, Online Safety Commission (OSC), will be established through the Online Safety (Relief & Accountability) Bill which will be introduced in Parliament later this year, according to the Minister for Digital Development and Information (MDDI), Josephine Teo. 

“The new law will also help victims hold their perpetrators accountable. If they want to sue the perpetrators, they can request the OSC to direct the platform to provide information about the perpetrators,” said Minister Teo. 

Through the OSC, victims will be able to request the authority to issue directions to online platforms to take down offensive content. 

Minister Teo shared the example of Jane, a pseudonym for a 29-year-old lady, who suffered from online harm for over a decade when a fake nude image using her likeness circulated on an image-sharing platform.  

While the platform removed the original image when reported, reposts still circulated on the platform. 
 
“We also want to do more to support the victims of online harms … Victims like Jane need more support to find closure,” Minister Teo said. 

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Strengthening legislation against harmful online activities  

While more details will be released in due course, the mechanics of the Bill and OSC’s operations are expected to strengthen existing legislation. 

The Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, which took effect from February 1, 2023, enabled the infocomm sector regulator, IMDA, to issue directions to disable access by Singapore users to egregious content found in electronic services. 

Another existing legislation, the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA), was passed in Parliament in July 2023 to further allow directions to be issued to online service providers, enabling the authorities to deal more effectively with criminal online activities. 

Moreover, online safety remains a priority for national regulators in multiple countries. 

Online safety in Singapore 

The intent to set up the OSC was first announced on October 1, 2024, during Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s speech at the launch of the Smart Nation 2.0 vision. 

Late-last year, over a one-month period, a joint public consultation was organised by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and MDDI on proposed measures to enhance online safety and better protect Singaporeans from harmful online content. 

Through a series of closed-door engagements with stakeholders from industry, academia, community groups and international partners, respondents were supportive of the measures proposed and provided their suggestions and feedback on the proposal. 

In Singapore’s effort to enhance online safety, the first Online Safety Assessment Report on Designated Social Media Services (DSMSs) was also published earlier this year. 

The report assessed the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of the online safety measures implemented by DSMSs to mitigate risks from harmful content, and highlighted areas for improvement. 

To assess if user reporting and resolution mechanisms were effective, real world user experiences of DSMSs were simulated via test accounts where harmful content that violated the DSMS’ own community guidelines was reported. 

From the six DSMSs studied - Facebook, HardwareZone, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube – the report found that despite the general comprehensiveness of online safety measures, there were areas which required improvement.  

“The report found that more often than not, platforms fail to take action to remove genuinely harmful content reported to them by victims,” said Minister Teo.  

The EU’s Digital Services Act and Australia’s eSafety Commission established in 2022 and 2015 respectively, offer perspectives of the varying degrees of power, challenges, and threats faced globally as nations navigate an increasingly digitalised world stimulated with evolving technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).