Last week, Singapore passed new laws requiring providers of online communication services, such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, to put in place safeguards to prevent users from accessing harmful content. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the sector’s regulator, will be able to issue takedowns and direct Internet service providers to block services in question.

The Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill and other recent legal rulings mark a crucial turning point on the liability of tech companies for online safety, especially for teens and children. Tech companies are responding to being held accountable for the scourge of online harms. For example, Instagram announced in the same week that users in Britain and the European Union will see new automated age verification tools on the platform as part of a major safety update to protect children.


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Chew Han Ei and Carol Soon are senior research fellows at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore. Lim Sun Sun is professor of communication and technology at the Singapore University of Technology and Design and author of Transcendent Parenting: Raising Children In The Digital Age (2020).

Top photo from Freepik.