Social media websites may very well be blocked or fined in Singapore in the event that they fail to cease customers within the tightly-controlled nation from accessing “dangerous” content material below a proposed regulation launched in parliament on Monday.
Below the invoice, regulators can order social media platforms to dam “egregious content material” together with posts advocating violence and terrorism or depictions of kid sexual exploitation.
Content material that poses a public well being threat or that’s more likely to trigger racial and non secular disharmony in Singapore can be included, the Ministry of Communications and Info stated in an announcement on Monday.
“Whereas some on-line providers have made efforts to handle dangerous content material, the prevalence of dangerous on-line content material stays a priority, given the excessive degree of digital penetration and pervasive utilization of on-line providers amongst Singapore customers, together with youngsters”, the ministry stated.
Regulators can even order platforms to dam a selected account from being accessed by customers in Singapore, however the orders won’t apply to personal communications.
On-line communication providers “with vital attain or influence in Singapore” may additionally be required to introduce measures to forestall Singapore customers, significantly youngsters, from accessing dangerous content material, the ministry stated, with out naming the platforms.
Parliament will debate the invoice in November. Whether it is handed, it could give authorities one other instrument to manage on-line content material.
Singapore final 12 months handed a contentious regulation aimed toward stopping overseas interference in home politics.
The regulation permits authorities to compel web service suppliers and social media platforms to supply person info, block content material and take away purposes used to unfold content material they deem hostile.
Three years in the past, the city-state handed a regulation combating “faux information”, which provides authorities ministers powers to order social media websites to place warnings subsequent to posts authorities deem to be false, and in excessive instances get them taken down.
© 2022 AFP
Quotation: Singapore proposes new regulation to sort out dangerous on-line content material (2022, October 3) retrieved 5 October 2022 from https://techxplore.com/information/2022-10-singapore-law-tackle-online-content.html
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