The instant messaging app Telegram, favored by criminals for its anonymity, has become a hotbed for scams, drug trafficking, and the spread of illegal content. In response, the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs has called on Telegram to strengthen user identity verification and is considering legislation to enforce compliance with relevant regulations.
At the Budget Committee meeting in Parliament, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling stated that while Telegram's anonymity provides privacy protection for users, it has also been abused by criminals. In recent years, cases involving scams, drug trafficking, and the dissemination of non-consensual explicit content on the platform have increased significantly, with the number of scam cases related to Telegram nearly doubling in 2024.
Sun Xueling emphasized that the government has asked Telegram to take user cybersecurity seriously and to implement stricter identity verification mechanisms to prevent scammers from easily creating accounts to commit fraud. She noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs will continue to closely monitor developments and explore further actions, including legislative measures, to ensure the platform fulfills its responsibilities.
Singapore has already enacted the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) and implemented two codes of practice: the Online Communication Code and the E-Commerce Code, to strengthen the regulation of online platforms.
In the e-commerce sector, Meta has required high-risk sellers and advertisers on Facebook Marketplace to undergo government-certified identity verification, and Carousell has implemented similar measures. Data shows that in the second half of 2024, e-commerce scam cases on Carousell decreased by nearly 20%, and those on Facebook Marketplace dropped by about 50%.
The government has stated that it will further promote the enforcement of the Online Criminal Harms Act to ensure more online platforms enhance their security measures, effectively combating scams and other cybercrimes, and protecting public interests.
