Speech by Minister Josephine Teo at Safer Internet Day Roundtable Engagement 2025

CLOSING REMARKS BY MINISTER JOSEPHINE TEO FOR SAFER INTERNET DAY ROUNDTABLE ENGAGEMENT 2025

1. Thank you MOS Rahayu very much for summarising the Safer Internet Day roundtable engagement.

2. I also want to thank colleagues for making the time to be with us at this roundtable discussion. Preceding this discussion, a lot of work had gone into designing the Code of Practice and ensuring its effective implementation.

3. In fact, the work began even earlier. I was just telling Dr Natalie (Pang) that back in 2021, when I was very new to this portfolio, I met with my international counterparts who shared about a prospective legislation being debated in the UK called the Online Harms Bill, which later became the Online Safety Bill. Upon returning to Singapore, I shared with my colleagues that this is an area that we need to improve because there was growing recognition that our experiences in physical Singapore are very different from our experiences in digital Singapore. Digital Singapore is very porous with the rest of the internet, making it difficult to manage online experiences the same way as in the physical world.

4. By 2021 to 2022, we introduced legislative changes, laying the foundation for the Code of Practice for Designated Social Media Services. From the outset, we decided on a collaborative approach, recognising that this technology is going to be a “black box” to all but its creators and operators. And it will continue to evolve.

5. The only way to effectively manage outcomes and mitigate consequences is if we work on a collaborative basis. Collaboration was an ethos that we adopted very early on. As a result, even when the Code of Practice was implemented, we recognised the need to give time for the measures to kick in and to establish processes to assess the outcomes achieved through those measures. And that's why it took time to publish these findings. This journey was not just necessary, but it was also valuable as it has shaped our understanding of what more can be done.

6. Along the way, our focus extended beyond online safety. We were also able to introduce legislation to push back against online criminal harms. It also enabled us to think about the impact of AI, whether it would materialise in the form of workplace risk, misinformation, or elections. The responses to each of these risks are different, and we don't need to take a blunderbuss approach.

7. I am very thankful to everyone around the table for your partnership and for continuing to be with us on this journey. Between 2021 and 2025, much has happened, but we all share a common sense of urgency. Every day that we do not act, we remain concerned about the potential harms people may experience, particularly children. Because they do not have a chance to relive their childhood. Their childhood happens now, and their childhood involves being online too. If we do not act in a timely manner to shape their experiences online, the consequences could be devastating. And I'm very glad that we are prepared to tackle this collectively.

More needs to be done to enhance child safety online

8. As MOS Rahayu was speaking, I was reminded of what transpired just over the weekend. I was at Gardens by the Bay with hundreds of preschool children and their parents, all enjoying themselves. It occurred to me that they were able to do so because the Gardens were not only attractive, but also clean and safe. Parents did not have to worry about sudden mishap caused by sharp objects left lying around or poor design that failed to address safety concerns.

9. And it occurred to me that if the Gardens were not safe, parents would likely decide not to visit. And I realised that there are parallels to what we are trying to do for the online space. In the context of a park, the park management has to consider the design, put systems in place, and establish processes to ensure safety, maintain cleanliness, and make the space attractive. Of course, they are not alone. Park management will need to depend on contractors. Park visitors will also have to play their part too. For example, if we see that something is unsightly or unsafe, we can make a report. Then it is up to the park management to do something to respond to our feedback.

10. In a sense, the approach we are taking to social media is similar. It is like a big park – just as people visit a park to enjoy its environment, someone needs to ensure that it's safe, clean, and attractive. And much of this responsibility will fall onto the management who operates this park. Of course, we all know that on the platform, a lot of content is generated by users, just like if we went to a physical park and left a lot of litter and debris. Naturally, the park managers would have a hard time cleaning it up. Therefore, we must ask: How do we get individuals or users on these platforms to exercise a certain sense of social responsibility – not to “litter”, in that sense – and to contribute to that safe and clean environment?

11. In summary, whether we use the park analogy or any other analogy, I think we can all agree that social media is something we can enjoy, but when it is not as safe as we would like it to be, we should make it safer. And that is precisely what the Government hopes to achieve through IMDA’s Code of Practice for Designated Social media Services – to set out our society's expectations of the designated social media services on behalf of Singapore users. We want to be able to advocate for users and ensure their online safety.

12. You would have already gone through the detailed findings. This is our first-ever online safety assessment report, and it has been much anticipated – even by me, and I want to acknowledge the good work that has been put in by our platform partners in setting out the safety measures. We now have common metrics by which to benchmark one another. I will not say that the metrics are comprehensive. Instead, with a sense of humility, I would say that over time, we will need to refine the metrics. As we learn about the services, we must determine the most appropriate ways to gauge users’ sense of safety when engaging with social media services. But it is a start, and we have to start somewhere.

13. I am very encouraged that our industry partners have taken a constructive approach to dealing with the findings of the report. There are many ways we can work together to follow up and improve user experiences. One key point recognised in the report is that responses to valid user reports could still be faster. For me, the most significant finding relates to the content that children still inevitably get exposed to, even when they are not pretending to be adults. This is the part that scares me the most – children do not even need to lie about their age, yet they are already able to access the content that, as a society, we recognise as harmful. And this is an area where we must learn from and find ways to do better collectively.

14. On the Government's part, we are considering what more can be done to better protect children online. Using the park analogy again, it is common for certain rides to have height requirements. This recognises that these rides are designed with specific safety features which require a certain height in order for the protection mechanisms to function effectively.

15. Similarly, age assurance is something that we will increasingly look at. We already have the Code of Practice for App Distribution Service, which applies to app stores, will come into effect next month. And it's natural for us to also consider whether the same sort of requirements will be useful and effective for social media services.

16. This is something that we're studying, as is our usual approach. We do not want to rush into it. We are always much more concerned about its effectiveness than just saying that we will move into it. So, we will look forward to discussing with you stakeholders to assess whether this approach will serve our shared objective of better protecting children online.

17. I also want to emphasise that, amidst our discussions, it is important to recognise that the role of the parents is paramount. After all, they are the ones who ought to have a say in the kind of growing up experiences their children should have. And it goes without saying that all parents want to support their children's development and their wellbeing. They want their children to be exposed to the experiences as their peers for their learning, but at the same time, they also want to protect them from potential harms. We need to support the parents in this process.

18. In that sense, IMDA’s findings will hopefully be useful in helping parents to understand the safety measures that social media services have already put in place. This will also allow them to exercise due care in deciding which platforms are more suitable for their children, as children may have different inclinations. This is something important to acknowledge.

Conclusion

19. Beyond government initiatives and regulations, I want to highlight the invaluable contributions that our partner organisations bring. Our academic partners play a crucial role in framing key issues and providing valuable insights. By monitoring global trends, they help us identify important developments that require attention. Their work has been instrumental in shaping our thinking and responses.

20. I would also like to give a shout-out to our community stakeholders, including SG her Empowerment, Touch Community Services and Future of Privacy Forum. The perspectives that you bring to the table – from users’ experiences and what you are feeding back to us about victims and the support they need – allow the government to explore ways to make the online domain safer for everyone.

21. And I would be remiss if I did not once again acknowledge the contributions of our industry representatives. I appreciate the constructive ways you have chosen to approach the issues we raised and your efforts to find practical methods in pursuit of our common cause.

22. Thank you all once again for being here. And as always, our work does not end here – we will need to cross the next hurdle together.