Singapore determined to build safe cyber environment

Singapore's Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) bill aims to establish a new Online Safety Commission (OSC), an agency that will administer a statutory reporting mechanism for victims to seek remedies for specified online harms.

Thursday, October 16, 2025 14:34

Hanoi (VNA) – A bill tabled in Singapore's parliament on October 15 proposes measures to empower victims of online harms to seek timely relief and obtain redress, as part of moves to strengthen online safety and protection.

Introduced by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and the Ministry of Law (MinLaw), the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) bill aims to establish a new Online Safety Commission (OSC), an agency that will administer a statutory reporting mechanism for victims to seek remedies for specified online harms.

The OSC will become operational by the end of the first half of 2026, addressing five types of online harm – online harassment (including online sexual harassment), doxxing, online stalking, intimate image abuse, and image-based child abuse.

Other categories of online harms will be added, including online impersonation, inauthentic material abuse, online instigation of disproportionate harm, incitement of violence or enmity, publication of false material or statements harmful to reputation, and the non-consensual disclosure of private information.

According to a recent survey by the MDDI, almost 85% of respondents in Singapore encountered harmful online content, and more than 30% experienced harmful online behaviours in the past year./.

VNA

#Ministry of Digital Development and Information #Online Safety Commission Singapore

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