Singapore’s online safety bill may be a double-edged sword, analysts say
- Proposed new law is aimed at fighting harmful web content and could encourage the likes of Facebook, Twitter to regulate themselves more
- But there are ‘grey areas’ as people have range of views on what counts as inappropriate; and what about freedom of expression?
Singapore’s proposed new law to tackle harmful web content may persuade social media titans like Facebook and Twitter to step up internal efforts to deal with the problem, but extensive government regulation in the online world may prove to be a double-edged sword, observers say.
“Regulating online content will always be a gargantuan task. This is due to the grey areas that are involved,” said Carol Soon, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies.
The Ministry of Communications and Information, when introducing the bill on Monday, noted that fighting harmful online material was a global issue and there was widespread acceptance that the companies involved have a responsibility to keep users safe.
“While some online services have made efforts to address harmful content, the prevalence of harmful online content remains a concern, given the high level of digital penetration and pervasive usage of online services among Singapore users, including children,” the ministry said.
The ministry said this would apply to material advocating suicide or self-harm, physical or sexual violence, terrorism, and those depicting child sexual exploitation. It would also pertain to content posing a “public health risk” or likely to cause racial and religious disharmony.