Internet Code of Practice

1. It  is  hereby  notified  for  general  information  that,  in  exercise  of  the  powers conferred by  section  6  of  the  Broadcasting  Act  (Cap.  28),  the  Media Development Authority  of  Singapore  has  issued,  with  effect  from  1st  November 1997, the Internet Code of Practice as set out in the Schedule. 2. Notification no. 2400/96 of 15th July 1996 is cancelled. =Foreword= 1.- (1) The Broadcasting Act (Cap. 28) makes it the duty of Media Development Authority of Singapore to ensure that nothing is included in any broadcasting service which  is  against  public  interest  or  order,  national  harmony  or  which offends against  good  taste  or  decency. This Code  of  Practice  has  been produced by the Media Development Authority of Singapore for this purpose. (2) All  Internet  Service  Providers  and  Internet  Content  Providers  licensed under the  Broadcasting  (Class  Licence)  Notification  (N1)  are  required  to comply  with  this  Code  of  Practice. Under the  Broadcasting  Act,  the  Media Development Authority  of  Singapore  has  the  power  to  impose  sanctions, including fines, on licensees who contravene this Code of Practice. =Internet Code of Practice= 2. A  licensee  shall  use  his  best  efforts  to  ensure  that  prohibited  material  is  not broadcast via the Internet to users in Singapore.

Obligations under this Code
3.- (1) An Internet Access Service Provider or Reseller discharges his obligations under this Code, in relation to programmes on the World Wide Web, when he denies access to sites notified to him by the Authority as containing prohibited material, under clause 4 below. (2) An Internet Access Service Provider or Reseller discharges his obligations under this Code, in relation to Internet Newsgroups, when it:- (a) refrains from subscribing to any newsgroup if, in his opinion, it is likely to contain prohibited material; and (b) unsubscribes from any newsgroups that the Authority may direct. (3) An Internet Content Provider discharges his obligation under this Code:- (a) in  relation  to  private  discussion  fora  hosted  on  his  service  (eg.  chat groups),  when  the  licensee  chooses  discussion  themes  which  are  not prohibited under the guidelines in clause 4 below; (b) in relation to programmes on his service contributed by other persons who are  invited  to  do  so  on  the  licensee's  service  for  public  display  (eg. bulletin boards), when the licensee denies access to any contributions that contain prohibited  material  that  he  discovers  in  the  normal  course  of exercising his editorial duties, or is informed about; and (c) in  relation  to  all  other  programmes  on  his  service,  if  the  licensee ensures that  such  programmes  do  not  include  material  that  would  be considered to be prohibited under the guidelines in clause 4 below*. (4) An  Internet  Content  Provider  shall  deny  access  to  material  considered  by the Authority to be prohibited material if directed to do so by the Authority. (5) Paragraph  (3)  does  not  apply  to  any  web  publisher  or  web  server administrator in  respect  of  programmes  on  his  service  for  which  he  has  no editorial control.

Prohibited Material
4.-(1) Prohibited material is material that is objectionable on the grounds of public interest, public  morality,  public  order,  public  security,  national  harmony,  or  is otherwise prohibited by applicable Singapore laws. (2) In  considering  what  is  prohibited  material,  the  following  factors  should  be taken into account:- (a) whether the material depicts nudity or genitalia in a manner calculated to titillate; (b) whether  the  material  promotes  sexual  violence  or  sexual  activity involving coercion or non-consent of any kind; (c) whether  the  material  depicts  a  person  or  persons  clearly  engaged  in explicit sexual activity; (d) whether the material depicts a person who is, or appears to be, under 16 years  of  age  in  sexual  activity,  in  a  sexually  provocative  manner  or  in any other offensive manner; (e) whether  the  material  advocates  homosexuality  or  lesbianism,  or depicts or promotes incest, paedophilia, bestiality and necrophilia; (f) whether  the  material  depicts  detailed  or  relished  acts  of  extreme violence or cruelty; (g) whether  the  material  glorifies,  incites  or  endorses  ethnic,  racial  or religious hatred, strife or intolerance. (3) A  further  consideration  is  whether  the  material  has  intrinsic  medical, scientific, artistic or educational value. (4) A licensee who is in doubt as to whether any content would be considered prohibited may refer such content to the Authority for its decision. =See also=


 * Singapore gay censorship

=References=
 * The original PDF of the Internet Code of Practice published by the Media Development Authority may be downloaded here:.