Online Safety Commission and the OSRAA

Singapore's Online Safety Commission (OSC) is the victim-relief body supporting the Commissioner of Online Safety under the Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025 (OSRAA). The Commission began operations on 29 June 2026, when specified OSRAA provisions also came into force (MDDI, 28 Jun 2026; Singapore Statutes Online, OSRAA 2025). The OSC is a route for people affected by specified online harms to seek directions and, in some situations, end-user identity information; it is not a renamed IMDA, a film-classification board or a general replacement for the police and courts.

The first operational phase covers five harms

The OSC's first phase supports victims affected by online harassment, including online sexual harassment; doxxing; online stalking; intimate image abuse; and image-based child abuse. MDDI says the Act addresses 13 categories of online harm overall, with the remaining eight progressively implemented rather than all being treated as part of the initial OSC workflow (MDDI, 14 May 2026; MDDI, 28 Jun 2026). The category, phase and effective date matter: a report should not assume that every upsetting online incident is already within the same OSC process or that the first five categories exhaust OSRAA's legal scope.

Reporting route and urgent categories

Victims should generally report online harassment and online stalking to the platform first. If the platform does not respond promptly or gives an inadequate response within 24 hours, the victim may then report to the OSC. For intimate image abuse, image-based child abuse and doxxing, MDDI says a victim may approach the OSC directly because those harms require more urgent relief. Reports are made through the OSC website, there is no fee, and parents or guardians may report for victims under 18; another person may report with the victim's written authorisation (MDDI, 28 Jun 2026). These are reporting routes, not a guarantee that the Commissioner will find a violation or grant every requested direction.

Directions and end-user identity information

Where the statutory conditions are met, the Commissioner can direct action to stop online harm. Directions may be addressed to the person who communicated the harmful material, an administrator of a relevant group or page, or a platform hosting it; possible action includes taking content down or restricting an account (MDDI, 14 May 2026). A victim who does not know the perpetrator may also apply for end-user identity information when considering or intending to commence civil proceedings. Any disclosure is conditional and limited to the stated purpose; it is not a general right to identify anonymous users or publish their details.

OSRAA duties, court claims and institutional boundaries

OSRAA also provides statutory torts and duties involving communicators, administrators of online spaces and platforms. During the first phase, the relevant provisions cover the five specified harms; a victim may have a civil claim in court where the statutory conditions are satisfied, independently of seeking OSC directions (MDDI, 28 Jun 2026; Singapore Statutes Online, OSRAA 2025). The OSC therefore supplies a specialised administrative relief route and public guidance, while courts determine civil proceedings and other agencies retain their own powers. IMDA's platform codes, POFMA directions, criminal law, protection-from-harassment remedies and film classification remain separate systems; asking which institution, statute and remedy applies is part of answering an online-safety question.