Singapore has enacted a wide-ranging set of laws to tackle online harms in recent years — from false statements of fact and foreign interference to digitally manipulated election content. As the legal landscape grows more layered, understanding the purpose and coverage of each law can be challenging. IPS Working Paper 63, Borrowing Berlo, introduces a practical taxonomy for organising this legislation using David K. Berlo’s classic SMCR communication model. By aligning legal provisions with communicative functions — Sender, Message, Channel, Receiver, and Feedback, the framework offers a structured way to clarify what each law targets and how they work together. It contributes to ongoing conversations on digital safety and regulatory coherence, particularly with the forthcoming Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill. The model is intended to support both policy analysis and public communications efforts.
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