SINGAPORE: Parliament passed a new law on Wednesday (Nov 5) to protect victims of online harms like deepfakes, doxxing and sexual harassment, with support from both sides of the House.

The Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act establishes a new Online Safety Commission (OSC) with powers to force platforms to remove harmful content and unmask anonymous perpetrators. The agency will also administer a statutory reporting mechanism for victims to seek redress when platforms fail to act.

All MPs present voted in favour of the Bill.

The Workers’ Party (WP) supported the legislation but saw its proposed amendments rejected. These included adding a judicial appeal route beyond the OSC, which the government said would slow the process of relief for victims.

Law Minister Edwin Tong said the eight-hour debate – which saw two other political office holders and 23 MPs and Non-Constituency MPs rising to speak – had thoughtful contributions and good suggestions from both sides of the House.

“Even if we are not able to take them on board today, I think they will be relevant for a future iteration of this Bill,” he said.

Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo added: “It will take time, and things may not work perfectly at first, but step by step, we will get it right.”

HOW THE OSC WILL WORK

When the OSC launches in the first half of 2026, victims can file reports if platforms fail to remove harmful content within 24 hours. The Commissioner of Online Safety can then issue directions to take down content, restrict perpetrators’ online accounts or allow victims to post replies.

The OSC can also obtain perpetrators' identifying information from platforms and disclose their identities to victims. Disclosure will initially be limited to enabling victims to bring a claim against the perpetrator, but this is intended to expand to other purposes like allowing victims to take safeguards against perpetrators.

The commission will initially prioritise five types of online harms: online harassment (including sexual harassment), doxxing, online stalking, intimate image abuse and image-based child abuse.

Its scope will progressively widen to cover 13 types of online harms such as inauthentic material abuse (including deepfakes), online instigation of disproportionate harm (including “cancel campaigns”...