‘Singaporeans encountering harmful online content’

Singapore: More than four in five Singapore residents reported encountering harmful online content such as scams, violence and cyberbullying in the past year, according to findings from two surveys conducted by the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.

Results from the Perceptions of Digitalisation Survey and Smart Nation Policy Perception Survey, released on Friday, revealed that content supporting illegal activity, such as scams, was the most frequently encountered harmful content.

This was followed by sexual content, violent content, cyberbullying and content causing racial or religious tension, Channel News Asia reported.

Singapore is a multi-ethnic city-state sitting in the midst of nearly 700 million people in South East Asia focused on business and commerce but facing sentimental issues relating to religion, diplomatic observers said.

Frequently encountered harmful online content referred to content that participants came across at least a few times a month. Subjects related to Israel and Gaza war, as well as ISIS online indoctrination, are some of the more serious issues faced by the Southeast Asian region and more so in the prosperous city-state that is dependent on global trade progress but is always cautious of economic disparity within the region.