Opening Remarks by MOS Rahayu Mahzam at Safer with Google

OPENING REMARKS BY MINISTER OF STATE RAHAYU MAHZAM AT SAFER WITH GOOGLE (15 AUGUST 2024)

1. Good morning, everyone. I am glad to be able to join you at this year’s Safer with Google event. This is the second iteration of Safer with Google, and also the second year that the Ministry has participated in, and supported the event. Earlier this morning, I visited the Sandbox Experiences, and was heartened to see the various booths which showed developments and efforts to create a Safer Home, Community and Ecosystem. It was so lovely that it was fashioned after our local spaces like the kitchen and living room. I am also looking forward to hearing from the other speakers, Ben, Karen and Laurie, and speaking to some of the YouTube Creators later.

2. You may be aware that recently, my Ministry changed our name from the Ministry of Communications and Information to the Ministry of Digital Development and Information. The name change emphasises our role in spearheading Singapore’s digital agenda, to help transform our economy and also improve our lives.

3. However, even as we integrate digital technologies into our daily lives, reaping many benefits along the way, we have to recognise the risks present in this increasingly digital age. The online space, while full of opportunities, is also a domain where bad actors, like scammers, lurk.

4. Technology can help us to mitigate some of the online risks, but it can only do so much. Ultimately, every individual must play their part in protecting themselves. Achieving this requires scaling up public education, building a trusted mobile ecosystem, and strengthening enforcement.

5. Collaboration between the government, industry and civil society will be critical in these efforts. Together, we must do more in three areas:

a. Promoting digital literacy,

b. Building cyber resilience and fostering trust in the mobile ecosystem, and

c. Combating bad actors together, with technology.

6. Let me cover these areas in turn.

Promoting Digital Literacy

7. First, we must continue to better equip individuals to confidently navigate the online space. In that aspect, I want to thank Google for being a strong supporter of the Digital for Life (DfL) movement since it was launched in 2021. The DfL movement represents our 3P – Public, Private and People – sectors coming together to help Singaporeans reap the benefits of digital in all aspects of life, and demonstrates our commitment to cross-sector collaboration in promoting digital literacy.

8. On top of this, I understand that Google has taken further steps to invest in developing more Trust & Safety practitioners. This would help build a larger pool of individuals with deeper expertise and who are better able to safeguard our citizens’ journeys in the digital domain.

9. On our end, the Government will continue to ramp up public education efforts to equip citizens to go online safely. Earlier this year, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) launched a Digital Skills for Life framework that sets out five baseline digital competencies to help Singaporeans strengthen their daily digital literacy skills, including how to be safe, smart and kind online. Since the launch, more than 50,000 seniors and pre-seniors have been taught these digital skills. Moving forward, IMDA will continue to roll out bite-sized materials to support parents in guiding their children’s online use on IMDA’s DfL portal, which covers topics such as managing screen use and cyberbullying.

Building cyber resilience and fostering trust in the mobile ecosystem

10. Second, even as we ramp up public education efforts, our efforts may lag behind the evolving tactics of cybercriminals. To minimise the occurrence of online harms, it is critical that we build a trusted mobile ecosystem in tandem with education efforts.

11. IMDA’s 2023 Singapore Digital Society Report shows that the vast majority of Singaporeans own smart phones, including 89% of seniors above the age of 60. Further, 96% of those above 15, and 99% of those above 60 are afraid of falling victim to scams. Clearly, many are concerned about these harms that could befall them as they use their devices.

12. Public-private sector partnerships allow us to develop innovative solutions to tackle online harms, such as scams. Scams target the vulnerable, and have evolved rapidly, with many novel methods being developed and employed by perpetrators. In 2022, the Singapore Police Force set up the Anti-Scam Command, to consolidate expertise and resources to combat scams. In July 2023, the new Online Criminal Harms Act came into effect, which allow authorities to order the swift blocking of online accounts or content suspected to be used for crimes, including scams. In January this year, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) published the Safe App Standard that provides a common benchmark and guidance to local app developers on necessary security controls and best practices to protect their users against common malware and phishing attempts.

13. The importance of building up preventive measures against scams and fraud cannot be understated, and we see the fight against scams as one of our top priorities.

14. We have been working closely with Google to protect users from apps that attempt to deceive users by masquerading as an official government app. When searching for official government apps, users on Android will now see a “Government” badge to assure them that they are installing an authentic government app. This is a useful feature that engenders trust and tackles government app impersonation attempts.

15. On top of this, we have also partnered with Google to minimise the ways in which scammers can take advantage of vulnerable users. CSA and Google have jointly developed a new enhanced fraud protection (EFP) security feature for Android users through Google Play Protect, which will block the download of high-risk applications that meet a set of criteria, such as apps downloaded from suspicious sources, apps that request for sensitive information, and apps that are from an unknown developer.

16. This is a significant achievement, as it is the first time that the private and public sectors have come together to develop an anti-scam product. I am also happy to share that Singapore is the first country with 100% rollout of this feature.

17. However, even with this feature there have been close to 900,000 attempts to sideload high-risk apps. The Government and our partners have put in place a number of initiatives to combat scams which have been effective in reducing the number of malware-enabled scams to 35 cases in the second quarter of 2024, down from 60 cases in the first quarter of 2024. Nonetheless, users need to play their part to protect themselves too.

18. We encourage other tech industry players to similarly step forward and partner with the Government to develop innovative solutions to combat scams.

Fighting bad actors together, and with technology

19. It is with this spirit of partnership that we work closely with the private sector on co-creating regulations to enhance online safety.

20. In 2022, we amended the Broadcasting Act, to introduce new regulations to minimise the reach of harmful content, such as content that advocates suicide, self-harm or physical and sexual violence.

21. In July last year, we introduced the Code of Practice for Online Safety, which requires Designated Social Media Services (DSMSs) to have systems and processes in place to prevent Singapore users, particularly children, from accessing harmful online content. The Code of Practice also requires DSMSs, including YouTube, to submit annual reports to the IMDA, and we look forward to seeing the results, which will be made available publicly later this year.

22. Despite the steps that we have taken thus far, online safety remains a work in progress. MDDI’s 2024 Online Safety Poll, which polls respondents aged 15 and above, found that 74% of respondents have encountered harmful content online – a 9% increase from 2023. And among those who reported harmful content to the platforms, 8 in 10 experienced issues with the reporting process. We think that more must be done to reduce harmful online content, and to make the reporting process easier and more effective.

23. This is why our efforts cannot stop here. In line with the Government’s accretive and collaborative approach to regulating the digital domain, we have been working closely with our industry partners, including Google, to develop a Code of Practice for Online Safety for App Distribution Services (ADSs), commonly known as app stores. ADSs serve as a gateway to most content on mobile devices, including online games. This Code will require ADSs to put in place systems and processes to deal with harmful content within apps.

24. A key feature of the Code would be the additional requirements to protect children online. One way in which we are thinking of doing so is through the introduction of age assurance measures. This could be undertaken through age verification, by way of verifying identity documentation, or age estimation, where technology is used to gauge a user’s age. While the work on the ADS Code is ongoing, we are grateful for Google’s continued participation in the development of the Code.

25. Besides developing more holistic and robust regulations to enhance the safety of users, technology remains a critical lever in the fight against bad actors. At the first Online Trust & Safety Forum in May this year, we launched the Centre for Advanced Technologies in Online Safety (CATOS). CATOS aims to develop cutting-edge technologies that prevent, detect, and mitigate online harms, and will serve as a platform for constructive partnerships with industry. We look forward to the technological developments by CATOS to stay ahead of the evolving challenges in the online space.

26. To close, enhancing online safety and cultivating a digitally savvy citizenry is an immense task in this complex online landscape. I am glad to see the continued collaboration between our agencies and communities towards achieving this shared goal. Let us continue to use technology to create opportunities, so that more people can feel confident to safely learn, explore and create content online.

27. Thank you.