Between protection and policing, can we really keep kids safe on the internet with new laws?
In public health, risk-scaled interventions, adaptable protocols and public education campaigns have proven effective in disease outbreak response.
"When you align policy for direction, technology for enablement and education for sustainment, and build a culture that embraces them, you create an environment that not only protects effectively, but also adapts, improves and builds trust of those it's meant to protect," Mr Tan said.
Are age-based content policies, similar to those in the UK and Australia, potentially on the horizon for Singapore, then?
Mr Kieran Donovan, co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based startup k-ID, which helps online service providers comply with global age-related regulations, said Singaporean regulators are known for being measured and deliberate. They take the time to gather input from a wide range of stakeholders, including the industries that will be affected, and it is no different in the online safety space.
"Singapore is taking a thoughtful approach, carefully observing international developments while considering local cultural contexts and capabilities," he said.
For example, Mr Donovan said that through the Ministry of Education, the government is able to allocate sufficient resources to teach digital literacy and cyber awareness to children, helping them become more aware of online harms and dangers.
Asked about the most realistic enforcement mechanisms to keep pace with and potentially outsmart users' resourcefulness, Mr Donovan acknowledged that every protective system will face attempts to bypass it.
"But that doesn't mean we throw the whole system out. We work tirelessly to keep protecting more people online every single day," he said.
"Unfortunately, there are those who call for the removal of all online protections, which would be counterproductive to the protection of the rights of the child."
Mr Donovan stressed that there is a place and need for regulation for all the reasons mentioned previously.
"But regulation alone cannot solve this problem, and in Singapore, that includes continuing with stronger education and training of both parents and children that ultimately empowers our children to be smart and safe digital natives."
Building on that, Ms Quinn also stressed the importance of engaging young people directly in shaping the rules that affect them.
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