23-6-2024 (SINGAPORE) Singapore has emerged as one of the top nations leading the charge against objectionable online content, with a surge in the number of videos removed from platforms like YouTube for violating community guidelines.
According to the latest Google Transparency Report, YouTube’s parent company Google removed a staggering 1.2 million videos uploaded from Singapore in the last three months of 2023, placing the city-state second only to India in terms of content takedowns. In the subsequent quarter from January to March 2024, Singapore ranked 10th with about 100,000 video removals.
The removed content primarily violated guidelines related to child safety, cyber bullying, sexualization of minors, dangerous pranks, instructional theft, self-harm, hate speech, deception, violence, and vulgarity. Approximately 40% of the videos removed in the first quarter of 2024 were flagged for child safety concerns, while a quarter promoted dangerous or threatening stunts and theft.
Singapore’s appearance in the top 10 list for video removals is a recent development, with the nation first making the list in the third quarter of 2023, ranking third with about 640,000 takedowns.
The surge in content removals from Singapore coincides with heightened efforts by online platforms to ensure online safety, particularly for minors and vulnerable groups. Calls for stronger measures have come from various quarters, including the United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who advocated for warning labels on social media platforms akin to those found on tobacco and alcohol products, citing the potential mental health harms for adolescents.
In Singapore, the Online Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, which took effect in February 2023, has empowered authorities to direct social media platforms to remove online harms such as sexual and violent content, cyber bullying, vice, organized crime, suicide or self-harm promotion, and content that could incite racial or religious tensions or endanger public health. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to $1 million or the blocking of the social media service within the country.
Additionally, a code of practice implemented in July 2023 sets out specific guidelines for social media platforms operating in Singapore, including Facebook, HardwareZone, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
A YouTube spokesperson attributed the spike in video removals from Singapore to improved enforcement processes and technology employed by the platform.
While Singapore has seen a significant increase in content takedowns, other countries have not experienced a similar surge. India, for instance, has consistently topped the list with around 2.6 million removals, while the United States remained below 800,000 removals during the same period.
Experts anticipate that the figures for removed Singapore-uploaded content may stabilize in the coming months as users become more cautious when uploading content in light of tighter enforcement measures.
The tighter enforcement has also impacted other platforms like TikTok, with the platform’s Community Guidelines Enforcement Report indicating that about 607,000 videos from Singapore were removed in the last quarter of 2023 – the first time the city-state was featured among the 50 markets with the highest volume of video removals.
