S’pore ISPs to actively promote Internet filters

UPDATED

From September, Internet service providers (ISPs) in Singapore will be required to advertise Internet filters, including mobile filters, at point of sale and upon contract renewal.

The new requirement by the Media Development Authority comes amid growing concerns that children are spending a significant amount of time on the Internet through mobile phone devices, and may be exposed to undesirable content such as pornographic sites and inappropriate material that promotes violence available online.

Announcing the requirement on Friday, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Grace Fu said this move aims to "ensure a safe online experience for our children".

"I strongly encourage parents to use Internet filters offered by the ISPs," said Ms Fu, also the Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources.

A Censorship Review Committee (CRC) survey in 2010 revealed that 71 percent of Internet users in Singapore, who are parents with young children (14 and below), are not subscribers of Internet filters.

Studies also show 95 percent of children aged between eight and 14 have access to the Internet, spending up to eight hours a day online.

From September, StarHub will offer an Internet filtering service for smartphone and tablets for its subscribers. It will be offered free until June 2012 and priced at $3.21 per month thereafter.

StarHub's new SafeSurf on Mobile allows parents to set filters for what multimedia content and websites their children can surf on their phones.

The telco also launched a new Internet security service, SafeShield, which guards against common web-based threats. This service will be offered free for a year to all Internet users in Singapore.

A StarHub spokesperson said that customers signing up for or renewing their home broadband plan online will be prompted to consider adding a content filtering service before completing the application process.

"When our mobile Internet filtering service launches in September 2011, we will provide a similar option to customers at the point of sale and also through the various channels of online, mobile and SMS," she said.

Currently, all ISPs offer content filtering services that allow residential broadband subscribers to block out inappropriate content.

A SingTel spokesperson said the telco will be offering mobile broadband filtering solutions for phones and tablets "soon".

Its ADSL and fibre broadband customers can use its SingNet Family Protection service launched in February this year.

Parents welcome the move

Parent Tan Teng Yi, 41, welcomed the news, saying he will not hesitate to subscribe to a mobile Internet filter package for his 13-year-old son, who owns an iPhone 4.

"Our current generation of parents is the first to face the challenge of helping our children make the most of their virtual space while keeping them safe in it, and I believe that the new regulation by MDA will encourage more parents to safeguard their child from the potential dangers posed by the Internet," he told Yahoo! Singapore.

However, parents should be aware that such filters are not foolproof and inappropriate content can also be received via text messages.

Another parent Yahoo! Singapore spoke to, Derrick Ang, feels that more can be done by MDA and telcos to provide parents with more options to control and monitor what kids do on their mobile phones.

"Mobile Internet or content filters are inadequate in monitoring the activities children do on their phones, especially when smartphones are equipped with many features," he said.

"Usage controls such as allowing parents to regulate the number of calls and text messages their children exchange, and location controls to monitor a child's whereabouts through built-in GPS systems, are essential and should be embraced, too," he added.

A quintessential example is US mobile phone carrier AT&T, which has gone beyond mobile Internet filtering to protect children on their mobile devices.

The AT&T Smart Limits for Wireless service allows parents to set limits for the number of text and instant messages, and the amount and frequency of mobile web browsing. Moreover, the child will receive a warning notification when pre-agreed limits are approaching, and that particular service will be suspended until the next billing cycle.

The writer is a 17-year-old technology blogger who loves social media and gadgets. He is also Singapore's No. 1 Twitter user, with 210,000 followers.

- with additional reporting by Alicia Wong