Singapore

National jurisdiction · as of 2026-09-07

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Singapore has no adult-content age-verification statute and no age-based restriction on exhibiting or supplying restricted films confirmed in the primary text of the Films Act 1981. It does have two age-appropriate design codes issued by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) under section 45L of the Broadcasting Act 1994.

The Code of Practice for Online Safety for Social Media Services, binding on social media services designated under section 45K(1), took effect 18 July 2023 and requires a designated service to give children differentiated, more restrictive default safety settings and tools their parents or guardians can use to manage their exposure to harmful content.

The Code of Practice for Online Safety, App Distribution Services, binding on app distribution services designated under the same power, took effect 31 March 2025 and requires a designated app store to implement age verification or another form of age assurance so that an account holder's age or age range can be established with reasonable accuracy, alongside more restrictive default settings for children's accounts.

The Films Act 1981 establishes a licensing and classification scheme, administered by IMDA, for importing, distributing and publicly exhibiting films, but its own text does not state an age-based restriction on exhibiting or supplying a restricted or R21-rated film to a person under 21; that restriction is set through a film's classification conditions rather than the Act's own provisions.

The Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025, passed 25 November 2025 and partly in force from 29 June 2026, creates a redress, direction and tort regime for online harassment, doxxing, non-consensual disclosure and image-based child abuse, but does not impose an age-verification or age-gating duty on an online service.

Instruments on record

Code of Practice for Online Safety, App Distribution Services

In force

Code of Practice for Online Safety, App Distribution Services, issued under s. 45L of the Broadcasting Act 1994

Effective 2025-03-31 · Applies to private

The Code applies to App Distribution Services designated or to be designated under section 45K(1) of the Broadcasting Act 1994. It requires the provider of a designated service to minimise all users' exposure to harmful content (sexual content, violent content, suicide and self-harm content, cyberbullying content, content endangering public health, and content facilitating vice and organised crime) through content guidelines and content moderation of the apps it distributes.

For children, defined as anyone below 18, the provider must have systems and processes, including age verification or another means of age assurance, so that a user's age or age range can be established with reasonable accuracy. Unless the service restricts children's access entirely, a child's account must have differentiated, more restrictive default settings.

Age assurance must be implemented consistently with the Personal Data Protection Act 2012's data-protection provisions and the Personal Data Protection Commission's guidelines on children's personal data, including data minimisation. A provider that has not yet implemented age assurance must submit an implementation plan and timeline to IMDA for its agreement. The provider must also use technology to proactively detect and swiftly remove child sexual exploitation and abuse material.

Source: Full text of law

Code of Practice for Online Safety, Social Media Services

In force

Code of Practice for Online Safety, Social Media Services, issued under s. 45L of the Broadcasting Act 1994

Effective 2023-07-18 · Applies to private

The Code applies to Social Media Services designated or to be designated under section 45K(1) of the Broadcasting Act 1994; six services (Facebook, HardwareZone, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube) were designated when it took effect.

It requires a designated service to minimise all end-users' exposure to harmful content (sexual content, violent content, suicide and self-harm content, cyberbullying content, content endangering public health, and content facilitating vice and organised crime) through published community guidelines and content moderation. Beyond that baseline, the Code requires additional measures for children, defined as anyone below 18.

Unless the service restricts child access entirely, a child's account must have age-appropriate default settings that are more restrictive than a general account, tools for the child or a parent or guardian to manage exposure and limit the visibility of and interaction with the account, and a clear warning before the child or parent opts out of those protective defaults.

A designated service must also use technology to proactively detect and swiftly remove child sexual exploitation and abuse material.

Source: Full text of law