Singapore plans legislation in early 2027 to protect young social media users

Singapore intends to introduce legislation in early 2027 requiring social media platforms to check users’ ages and strengthen protections for children, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said on Oct. 24.

The planned age-assurance requirements would allow platforms to apply protections intended for younger users. MDDI said the checks must comply with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012. The government is also considering design safeguards covering inappropriate content, unwanted contact, autoplay and daily time limits.

Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo said on Aug. 28 that the government was considering requiring platforms to disable autoplay by default, while allowing parents to change the setting. MDDI said consultations with over 2,000 parents and youth between June 2026 and August 2026 found support for protections that vary by age, rather than a complete ban.

Separately, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) published its first assessment of designated app stores’ online safety measures on Oct. 24. Covering Apr. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2025, it examined Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Huawei AppGallery, Microsoft Store comprising five storefronts, and Samsung Galaxy Store.

IMDA’s mystery shoppers tested over 7,000 apps and identified 65 with harmful content that breached the stores’ policies, alongside 24 with incorrect age ratings. Following notification, the stores removed the harmful apps or revised the ratings of those incorrectly classified.

Although all designated stores had basic safeguards, IMDA found that a small percentage of Huawei AppGallery users could bypass its age-assurance method. Huawei committed to working with the authority on the problem. IMDA said the stores had acknowledged identified weaknesses and had either corrected them or were developing solutions.