Since 2021, more than 5,900 online monikers and advertisements suspected of perpetrating scams have been flagged by the police for termination, said Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam in response to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament (MP) Gerald Giam.

Telegram has not responded to requests made by police

Giam asked about current regulations to compel social media platforms to swiftly remove posts or accounts suspected of performing scams.

He also asked about the average turnaround time for such removals following requests made by authorities and how many such requests have been submitted in the last two years.

Shanmugam said that since 2021, the police have flagged more than 5,900 online monikers and advertisements perpetrating suspected scams for termination.

He said that the turnaround time differs for each removal, depending on the responsiveness of the different platforms.

"For example, Shopee would take about one to two days to respond, while Carousell and Facebook take longer, sometimes up to five days or even longer," said Shanmugam.

Meanwhile, he pointed out that Telegram has not responded to the requests made by the police.

Shanmugam said that it is vital for scam accounts and posts to be taken down as soon as possible when flagged, given the harm they pose.

“We have been engaging the internet companies to improve their turnaround time so that we can reduce the number of people who may fall prey to the scammers,” he added.

Online Criminal Harms Acts to progressively start from first quarter of 2024

Giam had also asked when the Online Criminal Harms Act will take effect.

The act was passed in Parliament on Jul. 5, 2023, aimed to combat criminal activity and protect Singaporeans against online harms.

The act empowers the government to issue directions to any online service provider through which criminal activities could be conducted, including removing and blocking access to content suspected of perpetrating crimes.

In response to Giam's question, Shanmugam said that the Online Criminal Harms Acts will come into force progressively starting from the first quarter of 2024.

Non-compliance with directions from the police constitutes an offence, Shanmugam added.

Shanmugam said that while the Online Criminal Harms Act has not yet been taken into effect, social media services designated under the Broadcasting Act are already necessitated to put in place systems and processes that will cut down exposure to harmful content for Singapore users, including scams.

Singapore users can also report these contents to social media services for removal under their community guidelines and standards, Shanmugam added.

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