Singapore Requires "High-Risk" Social Media to Crackdown Scams

Social media is popular but pose a risk of scam. Recently, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) imposed requirements on social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram to put in place better defenses against bad actors.

To strengthen the partnership between the government and online service providers in the fight against scams and malicious online activities, the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) created a new framework. Under this framework, the Singaporean authority issued two Codes of Practice  - Online Communication Code and E-Commerce Code.

Since June 26, 2024, relevant social media and e-commerce platforms would need to comply with these Codes of Practice, MHA said.

Singapore government believes that Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, and WeChat pose the highest risk of scams to local users. For these platforms, the Online Communication Code requires them to adopt appropriate systems, processes, and measures to achieve three objectives - quick disruption of malicious accounts and activities, deployment of safeguards to prevent propagation of malicious activities, and accountability.

Under E-Commerce Code, Carousell and Facebook Marketplace/Advertisements/Pages follow the same rule as social media does with two additional requirements. Users who post or intend to post ads for goods and services are required to be verified. Platforms should provide users with a protection mechanism for verification of delivery of goods or services before payment.

In July 2023, Singapore passed the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA), which aims to prevent scam and malicious online activities from causing losses to users in Singapore.