Govt will work with designated platforms to respond faster to online harms: Edwin Tong

SINGAPORE - The Government will work with designated online platforms to respond faster to online harms, including taking down offending content or banning perpetrators, under Singapore’s new legal framework to help victims get timely redress and better protection, said Law Minister Edwin Tong.

“As platforms become more familiar with the framework, we will work with them towards shorter response times,” said Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, on .

“Because when harmful content is circulating online, even that extra one hour (that it is available) can sometimes matter a lot.”

Depending on the type of online harm, designated online platforms currently have to respond within six to 48 hours of being notified under the , especially in reporting harms, such as less form filling.

For now, designated online platforms must respond within six hours for straightforward cases of intimate images and videos of victims shared online without their consent. The same goes for straightforward child abuse material that is shared online.Straightforward cases involve online abuse material that depicts women, men or children whose genitals, anal region or breasts are exposed.For other cases of intimate image abuse or image-based child abuse, the response time is 24 hours. For online harassment, doxing and stalking, platforms must take action within 48 hours.Platforms that these requirements apply to are YouTube, Google Maps Reviews, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp, X, HardwareZone Forums, TikTok, Reddit, Telegram and WeChat.Singapore Children’s Society chief executive Ang Boon Min said faster response times for platforms to act on online harms are important for child victims.“Children today are on their phones a lot. And something that is spreading in their circles could go viral very quickly,” she said, noting that harms like online sexual abuse are traumatic for children.Victims, or their guardians, can get online platforms to act on online harms they experienced by filling a form downloaded from the Ministry of Law’s website and sending the form to the platforms.Tong said on that the Government also wants to make it easier for victims to send these online harm notices to platforms. This includes allowing victims to access the notification form on the platforms’ own services. The form should be easy to find and use, and only request information from victims that is “reasonably necessary”.For major platforms, Tong said the Government hopes they can provide a clear and dedicated channel for victims to easily send the online harm notices, such as a designated e-mail address, for a start.How victims’ online harms notices are approached should also be practical and handled in a “victim-centric way”, he said. Tong noted that there have been cases where victims can no longer find the original offending online content but it still circulates virally, such as on closed messaging apps.“All of these hurdles should not put relief beyond their reach,” he said.“Where there’s a credible report, the focus should be on whether there’s enough information to investigate and to act, not whether every procedural box has been checked.”Another challenge for victims is serving court documents to, for example, perpetrators or platforms overseas to act on online harms.Since online harms cross borders very easily, serving court documents across borders can be harder. So the Government is looking at how to make the process easier, Tong said.“Being overseas should not, by itself, put someone outside of accountability,” he added.

His comments come after the Online Safety Commission (OSC), https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/government-will-work-with-designated-online-platforms-to-respond-faster-to-online-harms