Singapore moves to strengthen online safety: New bill targets platform accountability and fast-track redress

Singapore has introduced the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill for First Reading in Parliament. First announced in October 2024, the Bill aims to strengthen online safety protections for users by providing channels for expedited relief through a new Online Safety Commission. Crucially, platforms could now face direct recourse if they fail to comply with proposed measures to enhance online safety for users. 

Addressing online safety

The Bill was introduced as a part of Singapore’s multi-year revision of its laws to address online safety which included:

• Requiring the largest social media services to comply with a Code of Practice for Online Safety, focussing on measures to enhance user safety, user reporting of harmful content, and platform accountability; and

• Strengthening regulatory power to issue directions to reduce or block access to harmful content through a new Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) which commenced on 1 February 2024, with fines of up to SGD 1 million for non-compliance.

The new Bill complements the current law by giving victims of online harms more and quicker routes to redress, rather than focusing solely on enforcement or content regulation. These developments in Singapore come on the back of a watershed moment globally for online safety legislation, with the passing of the UK Online Safety and the EU Digital Services Act. 

1| Key features

The Bill introduces three major provisions designed to strengthen online safety and protect users in Singapore from online harms.

Online Safety Commission

A dedicated Online Safety Commission will be established by mid-2026 to provide victims of online harms with rapid relief.  The current avenues for relief such as applying for a court protection order, making a police report, or contacting the perpetrator or online platform, were reported to take too long or not result in effective action. 

Under the new law, victims still need to first report the harm to the relevant platform, before submitting a report to the Commission for further action. Victim may seek remedies directly from the Commission where immediate intervention is necessary, for example for harms like intimate image abuse and child abuse material.

Upon receiving a report, the Commission may direct platforms, content administrators and/or perpetrators to:

• take down the harmful content;

• restrict a perpetrator’s online account;

• allow the victim to post a reply;

• order the removal of apps from digital app stores; or

• block access to offending platforms or applications.

Entities that fail to comply with a direction may face fines of up to SGD 500,000 and further cumulative fines for each day of non-compliance after being convicted.  Entities may avoid liability by showing that that they had taken all reasonably practicable means to comply with the direction. 

Statutory torts

The Bill creates statutory torts imposing duties on communicators, administrators, and platforms.

• Communicators must not communicate, publish or engage in conduct relating to specified online harms in Singapore.

• Administrators must not create, set up or administer an online location in a manner that facilitates or permits online harm, intending or knowing that harm would occur. Administrators must take reasonable steps to address harms when notified.

• Platforms must take reasonable steps to address online harms when notified, with stricter timeframes for larger platforms.

These torts provide victims clear legal grounds to seek court remedies which include compensatory damages and injunctions. Nine categories of online harms are covered by these torts.

Previously, victims would typically rely on common law torts like defamation, harassment, or the misuse of private information, which can be difficult to establish particularly in the online context. The Bill clarifies the duties of each service provider, and provides a more direct route to injunctions for content removal or other relief most suited to harmful online content.

Enhanced accountability through identity disclosure

Under the Bill, the Commission can require platforms to identify users suspected of communicating and publishing harmful content, where such identifying information is already in the possession of the platforms. 

Where identifying information is deliberately obscured, larger platforms may be asked to take additional reasonable steps to collect this information. Victims may also apply to the Commission for the disclosure of identity information to support the victims’ legal proceedings under the statutory torts.

2| Enhanced powers in conjunction with existing laws

The Bill complements the existing Broadcasting Act and OCHA, in the following key ways:

• More online harms covered: The Bill expands the categories of online harm beyond “specified offences” under the OCHA (mainly existing offences under other Singapore laws) and “egregious content” under the Broadcasting Act (including content advocating self-harm and violence, child sexual exploitation, public health risks, and social disharmony).  Harmful content now includes doxxing, online stalking, intimate image abuse, and image-based child abuse; and will progressively be expanded to include eight more categories of harms including online impersonation, incitement of violence, fake news, and non-consensual disclosure of private information. 

• Shared regulatory burden: The creation of a dedicated Online Safety Commission means greater focus and speed in addressing reported online harms, freeing the Singapore Police Force and the IMDA to focus on their respective regulatory activities. 

• Direct relief for victims: The new statutory torts give victims direct recourse against platforms and perpetrators, complementing the common law and existing regulatory and criminal channels under the OCHA and the Broadcasting Act. 

3| Practical steps for platforms

Although the Bill is still going through the legislative process and therefore subject to change, the direction of travel is clear and platforms should consider the following practical steps to prepare for the Bill's implementation:

• Review content moderation systems: Platforms should ensure their content moderation policies, procedures and systems cover all thirteen categories of online harms included in the Bill. For example, the platform’s internal policies and community standards could be revised to ensure they cover the new categories of online harm introduced by the Bill, such as doxxing and online stalking. 

• Implement fast-track reporting and response mechanisms: In most cases, victims are required to report harms to the respective platforms before taking their claim to the Commission for further action. Platforms should therefore ensure they develop response protocols that enable them to comply with the Commission's directions within the prescribed timeframes.

• Enhance user verification and identity management: Given the Bill empowers the Commission to require platforms to provide identity information of end-users suspected of causing online harm, platforms should review their user registration and verification processes to ensure adequate identity information is collected, as well as assess whether their terms and conditions regarding user confidentiality need to be updated to take into account the provision of identity information of end-users to the Commission.

Looking ahead

The Bill represents a significant evolution in Singapore's approach to online safety, shifting from a purely regulatory and criminal enforcement model to one that empowers victims with direct civil remedies and expedited relief mechanisms. This positions Singapore alongside other leading jurisdictions such as the UK and EU in developing sophisticated regulatory responses to the challenges of online safety.

Stakeholders should monitor the Bill's progress through Parliament and prepare for its implementation. As Singapore continues to refine its online safety regime, early preparation and proactive engagement with the regulatory framework will be essential for ensuring compliance with Singapore’s online safety laws.