Minister of State Ministry of Digital Development and Information & Ministry of Health
MCI responded to Parliamentary Questions from MPs Edward Chia and Sitoh Yih Pin on how Singapore could protect children from harmful online content. (https://lnkd.in/g2cmaY2f) While the high level of digital penetration brings lots of convenience to our daily life, it also presents increasing risks to Singapore users, especially our children. According to a Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) study last year, half of the parents surveyed reported that their children encountered harmful online content, particularly sexual content and cyberbullying. On the Government’s end, we have enacted legislation and regulations to enhance the safety of users online. For example, • The Code of Practice for Online Safety was introduced last year to require Social Media Services with significant reach or impact to put in place measures to protect users, especially the young, from harmful content. • The Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) was introduced last year to address growing criminal activities online, such as terrorism, violence and scams. Two Codes of Practice were also introduced recently under OCHA to require providers of designated online services to put in place measures to proactively disrupt scams and malicious cyber activities. • We are also developing a new Code of Practice for Online Safety - App Distribution Services to address concerns over harmful and age-inappropriate content on apps. Beyond legislation, MCI works with Social Media Services and the community, such as Media Literacy Council, to empower parents to better protect their children online. An example is the Online Safety Digital Toolkit where parents can find parental controls, privacy and reporting tools, as well as self-help resources at https://lnkd.in/gwQJ56GD Members of the public are also encouraged to take part in workshops and family activities organised under IMDA’s #DigitalforLife movement to learn more about healthy and balanced use of technology. (https://lnkd.in/gmH32jMJ) You may have read in the news recently that Ministry of Health (Singapore) and Ministry of Social and Family Development, Singapore (MSF) are also planning to make their advice on device usage and screen time clearer and more definitive and will finalise and announce these initiatives in the coming months. Ultimately, we all care for our young and must do our part to provide a safe online environment for them. #OnlineSafetyTips #StaySafeOnline
This is so crucial…
Alhamdulillah may Allah guide and Bless us always Aamiin 🙏
Associate Group Director at PropNex Realty Pte Ltd
1moyes. besides these regulations, we also need to be vigilant to our children's online access