Opening Remarks by MOS Rahayu Mahzam at the Online Sexual Harms in Singapore Symposium

Distinguished panellists

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1. Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to join you at the Symposium today. I am glad to see many familiar as well as new faces in the audience.

AI has significantly lowered the barriers to committing online sexual harms

2. As you would be aware, online sexual harm is not a new issue. We have been grappling with issues like revenge porn, cyberflashing since many years back.

3. What is changing now is that Artificial Intelligence (AI) – a technology that is heralded for its potential to empower people and improve our way of life – is also paradoxically making it easier than ever for people with malicious intent to perpetuate online sexual harms at a much greater scale.

4. Such challenge is not isolated to any single platform or provider. We have seen this pattern repeatedly, especially in the GenAI space, where users have found ways to circumvent safety measures of GenAI tools through clever prompting techniques.

5. For instance, back in January 2024, Microsoft Designer – a GenAI design tool – faced significant scrutiny after users exploited it to create sexually explicit synthetic images of Taylor Swift.

6. Earlier this year, Grok – X’s GenAI chatbot – also captured the headlines for similar concerns.

   1. Users were found leveraging Grok that was embedded in X to digitally alter images of adults and children, most commonly by replacing clothing with revealing attires such as bikinis.

   2. What made things worse was that the Grok embedded in X could generate the requested image and automatically publish it on the user’s X account.

   3. This greatly facilitated the generation and publication of non-consensual sexualised imagery.

   4. Nonetheless, we are glad that X has taken some measures to address the matter globally, which includes preventing the Grok account on X from producing images of women and children in revealing clothing, following a global backlash.

7. Even as Microsoft and X take steps to address the issues on their platforms, one thing remains clear: Microsoft Designer and Grok are not the only two GenAI tools that will be misused. We must expect more to come.

8. We must consider what more we can do in today’s day and age where AI tools can be weaponised to significantly lower the barrier to entry to commit online sexual harms.

   1. Perpetrators no longer need technical expertise and sophisticated tools to commit online sexual harms.

   2. They can exploit widely available paid or free AI tools to generate materials for online sexual harms, even if they have nothing more than a simple text prompt and an innocent photograph.

Legislation, however essential, is not a silver bullet to addressing the challenges in the online space

9. In confronting this problem, what is heartening is that we are not starting from a blank slate. As Dr Michelle Ho mentioned, we have been working on this for some years – from the early days of identifying, trying to put definitions to what we see online, to this space where we have made significant progress in combatting online sexual harms, especially in the recent few years. For example, through the collective efforts of many in the community, including many in this room.

   1. We passed the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act in November 2022.  

      1. Besides enabling the Government to take down egregious content online, such as child sexual exploitation materials,

      2. the Act also provides IMDA with the legal powers to issue Codes of Practice to designated services, which currently include social media services and app distribution services.

      3. The Codes mandate that these designated services put in place measures to minimise users’ exposure to harmful content, especially for children. This includes sexual content.

   2. We also passed the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act in November 2025, to strengthen support for victims of online harms, including intimate image abuse as well as relevant deepfakes.

      1. Among other things, the Act will establish the office of the Commissioner of Online Safety, who will be supported by the new Online Safety Commission. Singapore will be one of the few countries in the world that has a dedicated agency to support victims of online harms in seeking recourse. The Commission is on track to open its doors by the first half of 2026.

10. That said, our work is not done.

    1. Technology is constantly evolving, and perpetrators are continuously innovating to achieve their malicious intent.

    2. As we reap the benefits of AI, we must be cognisant of its potential for harm and put in place guardrails to minimise such harm.

11. In doing so, the Government will continue building on our existing efforts to:

    1. Tackle problems in an accretive manner, where we design legislations and policies in a considered and calibrated fashion; and

    2. Be outcome-driven instead of overly prescriptive. This ensures that we have good regulatory infrastructure and that our legislative measures are enduring, able to withstand changes and developments of technology.

    3. Most important of all, we have to work with partners, including our industry and community partners, to enhance the safety of users online.

12. The community plays a critical role in addressing challenges in the online space. The Government’s legislation, however essential, is not a silver bullet. It also comes with its own set of complexities, such as enforcement challenges.

    1. Take exposure to harmful content, like sexual content, on social media as an example.

    2. To combat the issue, some countries have stepped up their regulatory measures, including imposing bans or age limits on social media access.

    3. While bans and age limits may sound compelling, in reality, there will always be ways to circumvent such rules and restrictions. I am sure we have all read reports of how children can still use an adult’s account or install VPN to access age-inappropriate content.

The community must work together to strengthen our non-regulatory measures

13. This is why the community must come together to tap on our collective wisdom, resources, and determination, to develop and strengthen our non-regulatory measures. This complements the regulatory measures in a broader multi-pronged strategy to address risks in the online space.  

14. Fortunately, such collaborative approach and spirit are already gaining momentum in our country and have started to bear fruit. For instance,

    1. The Government has identified four key actions that families should adopt to foster healthy digital habits and keep their children safe and supported online: Set boundaries online, Think before you act, Report inappropriate content, and Engage & Support your child in their online journey.

       1. These actions, developed in consultation with parents, youths and key partners such as the Media Literacy Council, are especially helpful when you or someone you know encounters online harms.

       2. For example, the key actions are designed to encourage individuals to report harmful content and interactions, such as cyberbullying or sexually explicit materials, to relevant platforms and authorities.

       3. Adopting healthy digital habits also means that we should recognise the importance of family and peer support, and take active steps to engage our family members and friends through regular conversations about their digital experiences. This sets the foundation for us to support them when they encounter challenges online.

    2. MDDI has also been working hard to reach out to parents and caregivers to encourage the adoption of healthy digital habits.

       1. Since November 2025, we have been working with community partners such as TOUCH Cyber Wellness, YouthTechSG and COMEBACK to roll out a series of digital parenting programmes to proactively reach parents in their local communities.

       2. Over the last two weekends, we have seen this collaboration take place in my constituency at Bukit Batok East.

       3. Together with support from Keming Primary School and my grassroots leaders, we have arranged for TOUCH Cyber Wellness to engage parents and young children on its “My First Device” campaign, which is designed to help families navigate this important milestone together.

       4. I also attended a youth-led event where YouthTechSG set up booths and facilitated a panel discussion for families to learn and engage in meaningful conversations about digital use.

       5. In the next few months, we can expect more of such sessions to be conducted across Singapore.

15. Today, I am happy to see Dr Michelle Ho and her team stepping up to bring the community together, as it’s their first experience reaching out to the public. I would like to congratulate them, and we want to encourage more such efforts. Initiatives like this help to bring people together to:

    1. Engage in meaningful dialogues;

    2. Articulate our shared vision of a safer online space; and

    3. Most significantly, lay the groundwork for the change that we want to see.

16. I am certain that the discussions today will be as illuminating as they are instructive, as we tackle issues such as:

    1. How we can build public awareness of online sexual harms,

    2. Improve the well-being of victims, and

    3. Enhance our policies and legislation related to online sexual harms.

17. Discussions and dialogues, like today’s Symposium, will go a long way in facilitating knowledge sharing and sparking new ideas.

Conclusion

18. I thank everyone for making time to attend this Symposium early Monday morning and for seeing this as an important part of your work to promote a safer online space for all.

19. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Dr Michelle Ho and her team, for putting together the programme and assembling a sterling group of panellists.

    1. I am so heartened because these are the very same people that we’ve worked with in building the work that we’ve done in the online harm space. I am sure that you all have much to learn from each other, and   

    2. I look forward to seeing how the insights gained today will translate into concrete steps towards our vision of a safer online space for Singapore.

20. I wish all of you a fruitful exchange of ideas and an enjoyable Symposium. Thank you.