This is a list of websites that are blocked in Singapore. Under the responsibility of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), these websites are mainly unlicensed gambling, pimping (known as vice related activities), copyright infringement/piracy, and for spreading falsehoods. Some websites may be blocked as suspected scam websites. [1] However, websites that are blocked in Singapore are easily circumvented by a DNS change without the need to use a VPN. [2]
As of 2019, there were 202 vice-related websites blocked by Singaporean authorities. [3]
Site name | Domain or URL | Type of site | Reason | Applicable law | Implementation date | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ashley Madison | ashleymadison.com | online dating service | "promotes and facilitates extramarital affairs" | November 2013 | [4] | |
Asia Sentinel | asiasentinel.com | America-based blog about Asia | "not complying with POFMA correction direction" | POFMA | 2 June 2023 | [5] |
Lawyers for Liberty | lawyersforliberty.org | human rights NGO | "non-compliance" with a correction direction issued against a statement on its website | POFMA | 23 January 2020 | [6] |
The Pirate Bay | thepiratebay.org | BitTorrent index of digital content | copyright infringing/piracy | Copyright Act | May 2018 | [7] |
Playboy | playboy.com | American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine | nudity | 1996 | [8] | |
Pornhub | pornhub.com | pornography video sharing site | Blocked due to pornography | 2014 | [9] | |
Redtube | redtube.com | pornography video sharing site | "symbolic statement" of the country's societal values | May 2018 | [10] | |
Solarmovie | Solarmovie.ph | BitTorrent index of digital content | copyright infringing/piracy | Copyright Act | February 2016 | [7] [11] |
States Times Review | Socio-political website | defamation of Singapore government | POFMA | November 2018 | [12] [13] | |
YouPorn | youporn.com | pornography video sharing site | "symbolic statement" of the country's societal values | May 2018 | [10] | |
KickassTorrents | BitTorrent index of digital content | copyright infringing/piracy | Copyright Act | May 2018 | [7] |
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).
Censorship in Singapore mainly targets political, racial, religious issues and homosexual content as defined by out-of-bounds markers.
Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH) was an organisation with businesses in property and aged care in Singapore. Since its takeover by Cuscaden Peak in 2022, it has been renamed Cuscaden Peak Investments.
Internet censorship in Singapore is carried out by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Internet services provided by the three major Internet service providers (ISPs) are subject to regulation by the MDA, which requires blocking of a symbolic number of websites containing "mass impact objectionable" material, including Playboy, YouPorn and Ashley Madison. The civil service, tertiary institutions and Institute of Technical Education has its own jurisdiction to block websites displaying pornography, information about drugs and online piracy.
Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai is a Singaporean politician, economist and former civil servant who has been serving as 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2022, Minister for Finance since 2021, Deputy Secretary-General of the People's Action Party (PAP) since 2022, and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore since 2023. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC since 2015, and previously the Boon Lay division of West Coast GRC between 2011 and 2015.
Alex Tan Zhixiang is a Singaporean politician and political dissident. He contributed to and owned online outlets critical of the government of Singapore. The government of Singapore labeled this coverage as fake news and blocked access to his Facebook pages under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
Ken Kwek is a Singaporean screenwriter, director, playwright and author. His short film compendium, Sex.Violence.FamilyValues, was banned by the Singapore and Malaysian governments in 2012. His first feature film Unlucky Plaza premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. His second feature #LookAtMe premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival in 2022, to critical acclaim. He has written several full-length plays, including the #MeToo drama, This Is What Happens To Pretty Girls, which premiered in Singapore in 2019. He is also the author of several best-selling children’s books including Kelly and the Krumps, which won the Hedwig Anuar Book Award in 2020.
Media regulation in the Republic of Singapore is carried out by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) and effected by various laws.
File sharing in Singapore relates to the distribution of digital media in that country. In January 2019, there were about 12,971,500 households connected with a broadband connection to the Internet in Singapore. There are also many public Internet access points such as public libraries and Internet cafes.
The Cyber Security Agency (CSA) is a government agency under the Prime Minister's Office, but is managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information of the Government of Singapore. It provides centralised oversight of national cyber security functions and works with sector leads to protect Singapore's Critical Information Infrastructure (CII), such as the energy and banking sectors. Formed on 1 April 2015, the agency also engages with various industries and stakeholders to heighten cyber security awareness as well as to ensure the development of Singapore's cyber security. It is headed by the Commissioner of Cybersecurity, David Koh.
Presidential elections were held in Singapore on 1 September 2023, the sixth public presidential elections but only the third to be contested by more than one candidate. Incumbent president Halimah Yacob, who had been elected unopposed in 2017, did not seek re-election.
The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) is a statutory board of the Government of Singapore, under the Prime Minister's Office. It was restructured from Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) in 2016, and officially legislated in Parliament on 18 August that year.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case in Singapore was confirmed on 23 January 2020. Early cases were primarily imported until local transmission began to develop in February and March. In late March and April, COVID-19 clusters were detected at multiple migrant worker dormitories, which soon contributed to an overwhelming proportion of new cases in the country.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore in 2020.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019, commonly abbreviated as POFMA and known colloquially as Fake News Law, is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that enables authorities to tackle the spread of fake news or false information.
Tan Kiat How is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for National Development and Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information concurrently since 2022. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kampong Chai Chee division of East Coast GRC since 2020.
Leong Mun Wai is a Singaporean politician and former investment banker. A member of the opposition Progress Singapore Party (PSP), he has been a Non-Constituency Member of Parliament of the 14th Parliament of Singapore since 2020 and served as Secretary-General of the PSP from 2023 to 2024.
Mothership is a digital media company that operates in Singapore. It was founded in August 2013 and its website officially launched in February 2014.
Media classification in Singapore is currently administered by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). All forms of media, including films, TV programs, video games, and theatrical productions, must receive an age classification before widespread distribution.