Key Information about the Online Safety Commission
- New one-stop centre to help victims of online harm get faster recourse
- Will begin operations in the first half of 2026
- Will be empowered by the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill to order platforms to remove harmful content
- The bill will be tabled in Parliament later in 2025
- Inspired by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner model
Online Harms Being Addressed
- Cyberbullying
- Deepfakes
- Non-consensual sharing of intimate images
- Sexual harassment
- Child abuse material
- Impersonation
- Hate speech
New Powers and Remedies
- Ability to order takedowns of offensive content, including identical copies
- Victims can request perpetrators’ information to commence legal proceedings.
- Victims can sue page administrators and tech platforms in some instances.
Current Situation
- According to IMDA studies, platforms take an average of 5+ days to respond to harmful content reports.
- The article cites an example of an 18-year-old victim of a deepfake where platforms removed the original post but did not copy it.
- The new commission aims to address these gaps in platform response.
Related Cybersecurity Initiatives
- Requirements for app stores to implement age verification by March 2026
- New standards for cybersecurity testing
- Participation in international operations to combat botnets
- Anti-scam measures that blocked 117 million potential scam calls in 2024
The initiative represents Singapore’s continuing efforts to regulate online spaces and protect citizens from various digital harms while strengthening its cybersecurity framework.
This article primarily focuses on the Online Safety Commission’s role in addressing online harms like cyberbullying, deepfakes, and non-consensual sharing of intimate images. Still, it does mention some aspects related to scams and how Singapore is addressing them. Here’s how the initiatives discussed might help scam victims:
Direct Anti-Scam Measures Mentioned
- The article notes that Singapore recorded 51,501 scam cases in 2024, involving a record total of $1.1 billion
- IMDA worked with telecommunications companies to block approximately 117 million potential scam calls (about 25% of all international calls)
- Around 50 million potential scam SMS messages were also blocked
- More than 280,000 telco subscribers have opted to block overseas calls entirely to avoid scams
- An additional 220,000 users have blocked overseas SMS messages
- A security feature for Android users blocked 1.6 million attempts to download potentially malicious apps across nearly 400,000 devices
How the Online Safety Commission Might Help Scam Victims
While the article doesn’t explicitly connect the new Commission to scam victims, some potential benefits could include:
- If scams involve impersonation or deepfakes (which the Commission will address), victims might have a faster pathway to get this content removed
- The Commission’s power to order takedowns could potentially extend to scam websites or fraudulent content if it falls under the category of harmful content.
- The ability to request perpetrators’ information to commence legal proceedings could potentially help scam victims pursue legal action against scammers if they can be identified.
- The one-stop nature of the Commission might streamline the reporting process for various online harms, potentially including certain types of scams.
However, it’s worth noting that the article primarily positions the Commission as addressing non-financial harms like cyberbullying and image abuse rather than financial scams specifically. The anti-scam measures mentioned appear to be separate initiatives focused on blocking scam communications rather than providing recourse after someone has been scammed.
The article indicates that Minister Teo stated, “We are working with the telcos and online platforms to address criminal misuse of their services,” suggesting ongoing efforts to combat scams. However, this article does not explicitly outline specific details about how the Commission will directly help financial scam victims.
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