S'pore plans new Online Safety Commission with powers to issue take down direction for harmful online content

The Singapore government plans to establish a new Online Safety Commission (OSC) under the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to help victims of online harms seek speedier recourse.

The commission will be equipped with powers to compel platforms to provide end-user information on online harm perpetrators.

The new agency was part of a suite of proposed laws introduced in Parliament on Oct. 15 under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) bill to strengthen online safety and protect Singaporeans from online harms.

Can require platforms to hand over identity information

If the bill passes into law, the OSC will be set up by the first half of 2026 and will be equipped with a range of powers to provide remedies to victims.

These powers include issuing directions to take down the harmful content, restricting the perpetrator's online account or allowing a victim to post a reply.

Such directions may be issued to communicators of the harmful content, administrators of online locations or platforms where the harmful content is hosted.

To address the issue of perpetrators hiding behind anonymity, the OSC can also require platforms to provide identity information of end-users suspected of causing online harm, where such information is already in the platforms' possession.

In circumstances where the perpetrators have deliberately withheld their identity information, certain platforms with greater reach can also be asked to take further steps to collect additional identity information from communicators of online harms.

A victim who has submitted a report to the OSC may apply for the disclosure of a perpetrators identity information for specified purposes, such as bringing a claim against them in court.

Conditions will be imposed to ensure that the victim does not misuse it, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Ministry of Law (MinLaw) said in an Oct. 15 press release.

13 online harms

Under the proposed bill, 13 online harms will be defined, of which five will be implemented by the first half of 2026.

The rest will be progressively implemented thereafter.

Victims can go directly to OSC for certain harms

Victims who have been subjected to online harm will be able to report the harm to OSC.

However, they must be a Singapore citizen, Permanent Resident or possess some prescribed connection to Singapore.

In most cases, victims will be required to first report the harm they have experienced to the online service provider before submitting a report to the OSC.

For specified categories of online harms that warrant urgent relief, such as intimate image abuse and child abuse material, victims may seek remedies from the OSC immediately.

"It will be an offence for a complainant to submit false information to the OSC," MDDI and MinLaw wrote.

The OSC will assess the report and exercise its investigative powers, if necessary.

A decision will then be made as to whether an online harm was committed and, if so, the remedial action to be taken.

Affected parties may seek a reconsideration of the OSC's decision and make an appeal to an independent appeal panel appointed by MDDI.

Non-compliance with OSC's direction will be made a criminal offence.

In such cases, the OSC may take additional measures such as issuing an access blocking order to internet access service providers or an app removal order to app distribution services.

Individuals who fail to comply with OSC's or the appeal panel's directions may face a fine not exceeding S$20,000, a jail term not exceeding 12 months, or both.

For each day the offence continues after conviction, a further fine of S$2,000 may be applied.

For entities, they face a fine not exceeding S$500,000 for non-compliance, and further fines not exceeding S$50,000 for each day of non-compliance after conviction.

Individuals who provide false information to the OSC or the appeal panel face a fine not exceeding S$20,000, imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, or both.

Statutory torts

To complement the OSC, the bill will also introduce statutory torts to clarify the duties and liabilities of three key stakeholders in the online ecosystem: communicators, administrators and platforms.

For communicators, the torts will make clear that they must not engage in conduct related to any specified online harm in Singapore.

Administrators must not create, set up or administer an online location that facilitates or permits the conduct of online harm and must take reasonable measures to address the harms upon receiving notice of them.

Platforms will be expected to take reasonable measures to address harms upon receiving notice of them.

"Overall, the statutory torts will provide victims with a clear cause of action against the above-mentioned parties, and allow victims to seek redress from the Court," MDDI and MinLaw wrote.

"The Court will be able to grant remedies such as compensatory damages and injunctions," the ministries added.

The OSC will be headed by an MDDI-appointed commissioner.

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