Singapore slaps app stores with age verification requirement for adult apps

Singapore will impose age assurance requirements on app stores starting in April 2025, blocking underage users from downloading social media apps and other adult-themed applications.

A report in the Straits Times says that, under the new Code of Practice for Online Safety for App Distribution Services, app stores must use age assurance to block young users under 18 from downloading hookup apps like Tinder and “adult video games” like Grand Theft Auto. They must also block children under 12 from downloading social apps such as Instagram and TikTok.

Major portals that will be affected include the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, Huawei’s AppGallery, the Microsoft Store and the Samsung Galaxy Store.

Stores will not only be responsible for verifying users’ ages, but also monitoring app content to ensure “harmful materials such as sexual or violent content and content related to cyberbullying, self-harm and vice, among others, are kept out of reach of children.”

As well, they’ll need to “have channels that are easy for users to report apps with harmful content, and be accountable to users on the measures they have implemented in annual online safety reports.”

The more serious the violation – for example, in the case of child sexual exploitation content or terrorist activity – the more urgent the removal demand will be.

One party likely to welcome the news is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has been a vocal supporter of foisting the responsibility for age assurance onto app stores.

Singapore considering social media ban to match Australia’s

In its announcement of the new age assurance requirement, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) notes that “with more people including children owning mobile devices, there is an increased risk of exposure to harmful content.”

That’s not news. But the island nation’s government is unusual in vocally endorsing biometric age verification methods, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and facial scans, as a potential solution. While age assurance laws are proving popular with politicians globally, few go so far as to recommend biometrics without reservation.

This despite Instagram and others having deployed facial screening technology from Yoti, demonstrating the viability of biometric age assurance tools for major platforms.

Under the new law, platforms without age assurance measures in place will need to submit a proposal to IMDA on how they plan to otherwise check the age of users. App stores that fail to implement the measures risk could be blocked in Singapore – a conservative culture in which streaming porn is legal, but downloading it or keeping copies is not.

The Straits-Times notes the interesting case of streaming apps like Netflix, which are rated for younger users but often host shows intended for mature audiences.

Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo says of the new code, “while there is no silver bullet that will address all the complexities of online safety, Singapore remains committed to fortifying our defences against evolving online harms.”

That includes toying with the idea of a social media ban for users under 16, in line with Australia’s hot-button age assurance legislation.

Article Topics

age verification  |  app store age verification  |  biometrics  |  children  |  digital identity  |  mobile app  |  Singapore  |  social media