PUBLISHED ONJune 28, 2026 10:00 AMUPDATED6 minutes agoBYKhoo Yi-HangVictims of online harms will be able to seek redress through the Online Safety Commission (OSC) which begins operations on Monday (June 29).
The OSC was formed to support the office of the Commissioner of Online Safety as part of the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025 (Osraa), which aims to protect online users from harm.
The Bill was tabled in Parliament last October, giving the Government powers to order social media platforms and app providers to take down harmful content.
While there may be 13 separate online harms that the OSC is set to address, it will begin with five and progressively incorporate the remaining eight.
These five online harms are intimate image abuse, image-based child abuse, doxxing, online harassment and online stalking.
For the first three categories, victims of such harms can directly file a report with the OSC via their website which goes live on Monday.
As for online harassment and stalking, victims must report to the online platform through where the harm took place, and should only file a report with the OSC if the platform does not respond adequately within 24 hours.
Only Singapore citizens, permanent residents or long-term pass holders can file these reports. Those under-18s are advised to seek help from their parent or guardian to do so.
Speaking with the media on Wednesday (June 24), OSC head Francis Ng shared that the OSC is an attempt to tackle online harms amid the prevalence of the internet.
"We will, at our core, have the interests of victims at heart. Our processes have been designed to assist victims to empower them to find hope to deal with these online harms," he added.
When filing a report, proof of identity, a description of what happened and supporting evidence such as screenshots or links will be needed.
For online harassment and stalking, proof that the victim reported the incident to the platform at least 24 hours ago is also required.
Victims can also find guidance on how to file reports on the OSC website itself, among other counselling and support services.
Once a report has been filed with the OSC, the commissioner may flag the relevant content and issue an Osraa direction against the person who communicated the content, the person who manages the group or location the content was posted on or the platform where the harm occurred.
Should a platform fail to comply with the OSC, they may be prosecuted for offence or the commissioner may issue access blocking to their platform or app removal orders.
Within 14 days of receiving the request from the OSC, these parties can also apply for reconsideration.
Should the decision be unsatisfactory, parties can appeal the reconsidered decision to a committee selected by the OSC for a fee of $200.
Under Osraa, victims of online harms can also bring civil claims in court against communicators, administrators and platforms.
To do so, victims can generate online harm notices via the Ministry of Law's Online Safety website, which also goes live on Monday (June 29).
These notices must be sent by the victims to offending parties.
For cases involving intimate image abuse and image-based child abuse, victims can sue for damages pertaining to loss of future earnings or loss of earning capacity.
An account of profits may also be ordered by the court where applicable.
Damages against platforms are capped at $500,000 per set of statutory tort proceedings, while damages for intimate image abuse and image-based child abuse will be awarded on the basis of at least $5,000 per image or recording.
Enhanced damages can also apply, such as if additional harm is caused by offending parties' refusal to take down content.
Notably, platforms must respond to online harm notices within six to 48 hours depending on the severity of the harm.
Should a victim want to consider legal action against anonymous perpetrators, they can appeal to the OSC for disclosure of the perpetrator's identity, if available to OSC.
Speaking on the launch of the OSC, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo shared that Osraa and the OSC make Singapore "one of just a few countries worldwide to have a law and agency dedicated to helping victims of online harms".
"They recognise the fact that bad behaviours online not only cause harm to individuals, they can become normalised over time and harm society," she said.
"Instead, we hope Osraa and OSC will help strengthen norms for positive and responsible online behaviour, so that all Singaporeans can participate safely and confidently in our digital society."
Minister for Law Edwin Tong also stressed that online harms have "real-world consequences".
"By giving victims better avenues to seek relief and accountability, we can build a safer online space for Singaporeans."
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