Singapore passes new law to remove harmful online content

The Online Criminal Harms Act will empower the Singapore government to issue directions to individuals, entities, online service providers and app stores requiring them to remove or block access to potentially criminal content.

Mark Tan of Pinsent Masons MPillay, the Singapore joint law venture between MPillay and Pinsent Masons, said: “The passing of this bill is evidence of the Singapore government’s proactive approach to online safety, and showcases its commitment to combating cyber threats and promoting responsible online behaviour by tackling online criminality head-on.”

“The bill will empower the Singapore government to promptly remove harmful content online, thereby fortifying the digital landscape in Singapore and further strengthening efforts to combat scams and malicious cyber behaviour in this regard,” he said.

The primary objective of this bill is to enable the government to take prompt action against illicit activities conducted online and proactively safeguard against scams and malicious cyber behaviour.

Under the provisions of the bill, the government will be able to issue five types of directions when there is reasonable suspicion of an online activity being carried out to commit a crime.

The five directions include stopping communication direction which compels the intended recipient, including individuals and entities, to cease distributing specified online content, including substantially similar material, to people in Singapore; disabling direction which requires online service providers to disable specified content such as a post or page on their platforms, which includes identical copies of the content that may be circulating; account restriction direction which requires online service providers to restrict an account on their platform from engaging in communication and/or interaction with people in Singapore; access blocking direction which requires internet service providers to block access to specific online locations from the view of people in Singapore; and app removal direction, which requires app stores to remove certain applications from their Singapore-based stores, effectively preventing further downloads by people in Singapore.

The bill also establishes a comprehensive framework that empowers the Singapore government to proactively disrupt scams and malicious cyber activities targeting Singaporean residents.

In instances where government directions are issued, both the recipients of these directions and the originators of the online activity targeted by the direction will have the right to appeal to a reviewing tribunal to vary or cancel the direction.