Review of Current Regulations and Protection Measures For Children and Teenagers Against Social Media Addiction

My response will cover the questions raised by Mr Vikram Nair, Mr Louis Chua, Miss Rachel Ong and Mr Abdul Muhaimin in today's Order Paper, as well as questions by Mr Chua, Ms Elysa Chen and Mr Victor Lye filed for subsequent sittings relating to the Government's measures to enhance safeguards for children and adolescents when they go on social media platforms. If the Members of Parliament (MPs) are satisfied with the response, they may wish to withdraw their questions after this session.

We share the concerns Members have raised regarding online safety for children and youths on social media platforms. Today, the Code of Practice for Online Safety – Social Media Services already requires designated social media services to put in place systems and processes to minimise users' exposure to harmful online content, especially younger users.

As the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) announced during our Committee of Supply debate, we plan to extend age assurance requirements to designated social media services. Age assurance is a critical step in ensuring that designated social media services can identify young users and provide them with protective measures on their platforms. We will also consider similar safeguards for online gaming.

We are determined to go further to enhance safeguards for children on designated social media services. MDDI is carefully studying features on these services, such as direct messaging and autoplay, which can result in unwanted interactions with strangers or excessive use for children and adolescents.

To that end, MDDI is in active discussions with the designated social media services to outline our expectations of the standards they must meet. We will also consult the public, including parents and youths to better understand their experiences and perspectives across different age groups, to determine the safeguards that are necessary and appropriate. The outcome of these engagements will shape our policy response, which may include restricting access to services with age-inappropriate features.

Beyond regulatory measures, the Government has stepped up efforts to support parents in guiding their children's digital use. For example, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has disallowed the use of smartphones and smartwatches during school hours, including during co-curricular activities, in primary and secondary schools. The Ministry of Health (MOH) updated its Guidance on Screen Use in Children aged below 12 years to provide parents with clearer and more actionable guidance on screen use practices in children. The Health Promotion Board, MOE and the Ministry of Social and Family Development jointly developed the Parenting for Wellness toolkit to equip parents with key knowledge and skills to parent effectively in the digital age and prepare their children to navigate the digital environment safely. The Infocomm Media Development Authority has also launched a set of resources on the Digital for Life portal to empower parents to help their child develop healthy digital habits from young, with content tailored to children's different developmental stages and key digital milestones.

Through these regulatory and public education efforts, we will continue to foster a digital environment where our children can grow and thrive safely.