SINGAPORE – The European Union’s landmark move in late August to bring artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, online game Roblox and messaging platform Reddit under the bloc’s strictest rules for online safety is expected to give Singapore more evidence to rein in potential harms.
The European rules include adding age checks to prevent minors from being exposed to adult content such as pornography and gambling, and changing how systems recommend content to children to lower their risk of encountering harmful material.
The EU guidelines also spell out that children and teens’ online accounts be kept private by default to avoid them being contacted by strangers.
Dirk Hartung, an assistant professor at Singapore Management University’s Yong Pung How School of Law, said that it becomes easier for Singapore lawmakers to also require similar measures here.
“Companies will have a hard time arguing that they cannot deploy the same tools to protect users in Singapore,” he said.
Experts said that developments in the United States also provide points of reference.
Earlier in August, Meta agreed to a settlement which included adding more safeguards for children and teenagers on Facebook and Instagram, such as limiting their daily use of the social media platforms and restricting children’s use at night.
“The measures being considered or implemented overseas – including age assurance, safer default settings and restrictions on potentially harmful design features – provide useful evidence that can inform Singapore’s own regulatory approach,” said Ben Chester Cheong, a lawyer at Rajah and Tann Singapore and a law lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Noting that many jurisdictions across the globe are also tightening safety measures, Hartung said regulators will step in where addiction, self-harm and other negative consequences for children’s well-being are accepted as part of online platforms’ business model.
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