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Singapore Eyes Sweeping Powers to Police Online Content, Apps

  • Government will be able to order platforms to remove content
  • Proposed law contemplates offences against national harmony
The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), in Singapore

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), in Singapore

Photographer: Ken Welsh/UCG/Universal Images Group Editorial/Getty Images

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Singapore’s government is taking the first steps toward codifying a new internet safety law that would grant it wide-ranging powers over content, access and communication online.

The Online Criminal Harms Bill, introduced for a first reading in parliament on Monday, is aimed at cracking down on illicit activities like scams, misinformation, cybercrime drug trafficking and the spread of exploitative images. It is part of a wider “suite of legislation” to protect Singaporeans online, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.