New Singapore agencies created to give victims of online harm more timely support

As part of the nation's Smart Nation 2.0 initiative, a new Singapore government will be created to help specially address online harms, which includes but not limited to cyberbullying and non-consensual sharing of intimate images.

The agency would then act on the behalf of the victims to order perpetrators and online service providers, such as social media platforms, to stop the online harm.

Timely and effective support for victims

Victims had to depend solely on the usual court based proceedings to help them, but these legal and criminal proceedings usually take time. Victims sometimes also turn to online service providers for help, but they also might not know what to do.

Hence this new agency would hence provide a more timely and effective relief. In a speech at the Punggol Digital District on Tuesday to launch the Smart Nation 2.0 initiative, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said,

"All victims of online hard want the damaging content online to be removed quickly and permanently....As such victims must be able to turn to a trusted source of support, who can act on their behalf to direct perpetrators and service providers to put a stop to the harms. "

This new agency is part of the government's Smart Nation 2.0 initiative, which also includes a $120 million investment into artificial intelligence to aid scientific research and education of digital literacy.

A solution created during the advent of harmful social media content

The new agency will be introduced by MDDI in collaboration with the Ministry of Law. This agency was created in the time of rising harmful social media content, especially in a time when there is a rise in the usage of social media applications like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and more.

Studies also found that out of 10 victims who tried to report the issue on their social media platform, 8 of them faced issues which hindered them from going through the process.

The agency spokesman said,

"Time is of the essence as online harm can easily go viral, amplifying the effect on victims."

The ministry also added that they would focus on the most serious and prevalent online harms affecting victims in Singapore.

In tandem with this new agency, MDDI also intends to introduce new legislation to allow victims of online harm to seek civil remedies from their perpetrators.