Partial commencement of Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025 and Online Safety Commission to begin operations on 29 June 2026

29 June 2026

On 14 May 2026, the Ministry of Law (“MinLaw”) announced that specified provisions in relation to the statutory torts under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025 (“OSRAA”) will come into effect on 29 June 2026 and that the Online Safety Commission (“OSC”) will commence operation on the same day. Together, these measures strengthen Singapore’s response to online harms by giving victims a dedicated avenue to seek timely relief, and by putting clear responsibilities on those who post harmful content, run online spaces, and operate platforms.

Statutory torts under OSRAA

The OSRAA introduces statutory torts to clarify the duties and liabilities of three key stakeholders in the online ecosystem. From 29 June 2026, specified provisions under the OSRAA relating to the statutory torts will take effect. These provisions provide a clear legal basis to hold accountable those responsible for online harms and allow victims to seek remedies from the court.

These statutory torts clarify the duties of those who post content (“communicators”), those who run groups or pages which host the harmful content (“administrators”), and platforms which host the harmful content. Where these duties have been breached, victims can apply to court for remedies to stop the harm.

The statutory tort provisions will be implemented in phases. In the first phase, victims of the five online harms listed below may hold communicators, administrators, or platforms to account for their statutory duties under the OSRAA.

For more on the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill, please refer to our article “Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Bill passed, establishes Online Safety Commission to address online harms and provide victim redress”.

Online Safety Commission

The OSC supports the office of the Commissioner of Online Safety (“Commissioner”) who will be appointed by the Minister for Digital Development and Information. The OSC will begin its operations on 29 June 2026, providing victims of online harms with a more accessible avenue to seek relief.

The OSRAA addresses 13 categories of online harms. In the first phase of operationalisation, the OSC will focus on five of the most prevalent and severe harms:

• Intimate image abuse;
• Image-based child abuse;
• Doxxing;
• Online harassment (including online sexual harassment); and
• Online stalking.

The remaining categories will be progressively implemented.

Where online harm has occurred, the Commissioner can issue directions to stop the harm, e.g. requiring that harmful content be taken down or restricting the perpetrator’s online account.

The framework also provides tools to help victims when perpetrators hide behind anonymous accounts. Where appropriate, the Commissioner can require platforms to provide identity information of end-users who have committed online harms, such as their name or contact details. A victim may apply to the Commissioner for disclosure of information, if available, but only for specified purposes such as bringing a claim in court against the communicator who posted the harmful content.

Reference materials 

The press release is available from the MinLaw website www.mlaw.gov.sg.