July 6, 2022

In ‘Singapore’s move to regulate online safety faces challenges, but society can help’ (Today, June, 2022), Dr Natalie Pang, senior lecturer and deputy head at NUS Department of Communications and New Media, writes about the implication of the newly proposed codes of practice by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) for online safety and Singapore’s upcoming challenges to ensure online safety.

The Code of Practice for Online Safety proposed by the MCI aims to address social media activities that have been identified as high reach or high risk to protect users, whereas the Content Code for Social Media Services empowers the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to request social media services to disable harmful content or accounts.

Dr Pang explains that the two codes are expected to complement each other to introduce greater protection for online users in light of growing concerns over online harm. In the ‘Nth Room’ case in South Korea, Telegram was used to blackmail, distribute, and sell obscene content of more than 100 victims. In Singapore, a Telegram Group named ‘SG Nasi Lemak’ was also created in 2018 for users to share obscene videos and photos.

Dr Pang also compares the two proposed codes of practice with the incumbent legislations, namely the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) and the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA). While POFMA is aimed at countering falsehoods, POHA protects individuals from harassment or stalking. However, Dr Pang notes that POHA itself may not cover all types of online harm, such as when the victims are not aware that explicit content about them is being circulated online.

Implementing the two codes means that there will be more monitoring and sharing of data between social media platforms and the government. In order to protect users’ privacy, Dr Pang recommends that there should be frameworks and guidelines to guide platforms’ disposal of users’ data. Instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp are currently not covered by the codes. But given their role in fuelling past cases of online harm, regulations are still called for.

Lastly, Dr Pang argues that since the tech-savvy younger generation can often find ways to circumvent content moderation settings and online safeguards, the codes alone are not the solution to address online harm. Instead, different stakeholders, such as parents, educators, and fellow online users should come together to deal with the problem of online harm.

Read the article in Today here: https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/singapores-move-regulate-online-safety-faces-challenges-society-can-help-1933571