‘For the sake of our children’: Former President Halimah hopes Singapore will ban social media for minors
As countries tighten restrictions on youth social media use, former President Halimah Yacob has called on Singapore to consider a similar ban for minors.
SINGAPORE: In a social media post on Wednesday (June 24), former President Halimah Yacob shared a link to a report on the United Arab Emirates’ recent ban on the use of social media for minors.
UAE’s ban is one of the strictest in the world, was announced on June 18, and is the first among Arab countries. According to reporting from Reuters, it says that youths under the age of 15 are not allowed to create profiles, share content, interact with others, or receive algorithmically recommended content.
The UAE government said that it aims to reduce children's exposure to harmful content, online exploitation, excessive screen time, and privacy risks.
Madam Halimah noted in her post that Australia has a similar ban, and called it “a good move as the damage to young minds in the formative stage of their lives can be incalculable. More are suffering from mental illness triggered by addiction to social media.”
She also pointed out how there are not enough safeguards to protect children from the harmful effects of social media, and underlined the amount of time minors spend online, as opposed to doing activities outdoors, building their communication skills, and learning how to navigate relationships positively.
Mdm Halimah, who spent over a decade and a half in Parliament before serving as Singapore’s President from 2017 to 2023, has retired from public service but continues to comment on important social issues. She pointed out the challenges in enforcing a social media ban, but added that bans on alcohol and cigarettes for minors are already in existence, having been set “to send a strong public policy signal of the dangers involved and that protection of our children is a clear priority."
“For the sake of our children, I hope that Singapore will impose such a ban,” she added.
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These discussions would “help inform our thinking on the next steps,” she added.
Workers’ Party MP Pritam Singh had asked if the government assesses more advantages than disadvantages in legislating an age limit on the use of social media access by young children and teenagers.
He cited Australia’s internet commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, as having said that the burden of responsibility for protecting children from online harms has fallen on parents and the children themselves, and that Australia’s new law means the burden is being shifted back onto companies instead. /TISG
Read related: Malaysia, like Australia, is banning social media for kids under 16. What about Singapore?
Senior Writer