Josephine Teo on social media use for Singapore minors: No direct ban, but stronger safeguards

SINGAPORE: Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo sat down with local journalists to outline Singapore’s approach to making social media safer for its younger citizens.

There have been concerns about the impact of social media on young people due to its influence on mental health as well as potential exposure to online danger. Countries such as Australia and Malaysia have imposed direct bans on minors registering on social media platforms, and the United Kingdom has announced plans to follow suit. Other nations are putting stricter measures in place, such as parental controls and age verification methods.

Ms Teo told the media on Friday (Aug 28) that by early 2027, Singapore will pass new laws to protect teenagers on social media platforms.

“Social media is an important channel for many teenagers to express themselves and connect with friends. At the same time, parents and teens whom we’ve engaged over the past few months have voiced concerns about problematic use of social media,” the minister wrote in an Aug 31 post.

She explained that instead of imposing an outright ban, Singapore’s approach is tiered access to social media based on a minor’s developmental stages.

“Children below a certain age should not have access to social media. Teenagers should be able to access social media, but with stronger, age-appropriate safeguards - or what we call social media that is safer by design,” she added. 

The three elements to these are mandatory age assurance, default safeguards, and platforms taking stronger responsibility.

First, while 13 is the minimum age on most social media platforms, it has been easy for children to get around this, as all it takes is a self-declaration of age. Therefore, Singapore will make age assurance mandatory.

“Platforms can propose appropriate methods to us, while ensuring robust and effective implementation,” she said.

Next, stronger default safeguards would address the issue of unwanted interactions with strangers and excessive social media use.

Singapore is also looking into a daily default time limit that would provide a stop point for features that may lead to excessive or problematic use, including infinite scrolling, with parents being able to adjust the settings of these features.

Thirdly, Singapore is expecting social media platforms to take responsibility for providing a safer experience for minors. 

Should a platform be unwilling or unable to impose stronger safeguards for users from the ages of 13 to 17, Singapore is ready to raise the minimum age of access for that specific platform to 18. 

Ms Teo, who noted the benefits that technology brings, wrote, “Ultimately, Singapore’s approach is about providing younger users with ‘training wheels’ as they learn to navigate the challenges of social media, with a fuller experience available when they are older and more ready.” /TISG

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