Broadcasting Act 1994

Broadcasting Act 1994 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act to regulate dealing in, the operation of and ownership in broadcasting services and broadcasting apparatus, to regulate online communication services accessible by Singapore end-users, and for matters connected therewith. [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] [1 October 1994] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Broadcasting Act 1994. Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “a point” includes a mobile or potentially mobile point, whether on land, underground, in the atmosphere, underwater or anywhere else; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “access”, in relation to any content, means to read, view, hear or otherwise experience content, by means of a broadcasting service or an electronic service, and includes — (a) access that is subject to a precondition, such as the use of a password; (b) access by way of push technology; (c) access by way of a standing request; and (d) access for a limited period of time only; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “Authority” means the Info-communications Media Development Authority established by section 3 of the Info‑communications Media Development Authority Act 2016; “broadcasting apparatus” means any apparatus capable of or designed or constructed for the reception of any broadcasting service and specified in the First Schedule; “broadcasting apparatus licence” means a licence granted under section 20 in respect of broadcasting apparatus, and “broadcasting apparatus licensee” is to be construed accordingly; “broadcasting licence” means a licence granted under section 8 or 9 for the provision of a licensable broadcasting service, and “broadcasting licensee” is to be construed accordingly; “broadcasting service” means a service whereby signs or signals transmitted (whether or not encrypted) comprise — (a) any programme capable of being received, or received and displayed, as visual images, whether moving or still; (b) any sound programme for reception; or (c) any programme, being a combination of both visual image (whether moving or still) and sound for reception or reception and display, by persons having equipment appropriate for receiving or receiving and displaying (as the case may be) that service, irrespective of the means of delivery of that service; “Chief Executive”, in relation to the Authority, means the Chief Executive of the Authority appointed under section 40(1) of the Info-communications Media Development Authority Act 2016, and includes any individual acting in that capacity; “class licence” means a licence determined under section 9 to be applicable to certain licensable broadcasting services, and “class licensee” is to be construed accordingly; “Code of Practice” means a Code of Practice issued under this Act; “communicate”, in relation to any content, means — (a) to make available (by posting or otherwise); or (b) to distribute (by sharing or forwarding or otherwise), the content, regardless if the communication is between persons and persons, things and things or persons and things; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “content” means information or material capable of communication by means of a broadcasting service or an electronic service — (a) whether in the form of text; (b) whether in the form of speech, music or other sounds; (c) whether in the form of visual images (animated or otherwise), pictorial or graphic form (for example, an anthropomorphic or a humanlike depiction); (d) whether in any other form; or (e) whether in any combination of forms; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “debenture” includes debenture stock; “dwelling house” includes a hotel, inn, boarding house or other similar establishment; “electronic service” has the meaning given by section 2A(2); [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “encrypted” means treated electronically or otherwise to prevent intelligible reception; “end-user”, in relation to an electronic service, means an individual who, or an entity that, and whether or not in the course of business — (a) has access to content or something which contains content; or (b) communicates content, or something which contains content, on or by means of the electronic service, but excludes a person who is prescribed by the Minister by order in the Gazette; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “engage in conduct” means — (a) to do an act or omit to do an act — (i) on a single occasion; or (ii) on a number of occasions over a period of time; or (b) to both do an act and omit to do an act — (i) on a single occasion; or (ii) on a number of occasions over a period of time; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “entity” means — (a) a body corporate (including a limited liability partnership); (b) an unincorporated association; (c) a partnership; (d) a body politic; (e) a body of individuals who together form a body; or (f) a person other than an individual; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “excluded electronic service” has the meaning given by section 2A(3); [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “free-to-air broadcasting service” means a licensable broadcasting service made available for reception in at least 2 dwelling houses by broadcasting apparatus commonly available to the public without payment of a subscription fee; “free-to-air licence” means a broadcasting licence granted under this Act for the operation of a free-to-air broadcasting service, and “free-to-air licensee” is to be construed accordingly; “internet access service” means a telecommunication service between a point in Singapore and another point in Singapore or between 2 points, one of which is in Singapore — (a) that — (i) enables end-users to access content on the Internet using that service; or (ii) delivers content to persons having equipment appropriate for receiving that content on the Internet, where the delivery of the service is by a telecommunication service described in sub-paragraph (i); and (b) that is covered by a licence under the Telecommunications Act 1999, but excludes a social media service and any telecommunication service prescribed by the Minister by order in the Gazette as excluded from this definition; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “licence” means a licence granted under any provision of this Act, and “licensee” is to be construed accordingly; “licensable broadcasting service” means any broadcasting service specified in the Second Schedule and is not and has never been an online communication service; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “member” means a member of the Authority; “online Code of Practice” means a Code of Practice that is issued or amended under section 45L or amended under section 59(3) on appeal; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “online communication service” has the meaning given by section 2A(1); [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “Part 10A regulations” means regulations made under section 45P; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “programme”, in relation to a broadcasting service, means — (a) any matter the primary purpose of which is to entertain, educate or inform all or part of the public; or (b) any advertising or sponsorship matter, whether or not of a commercial kind, but does not include any matter that is wholly related to or connected with any private communication, that is to say — (c) any communication between 2 or more persons that is of a private or domestic nature; (d) any internal communication of a business, Government agency or other organisation for the purpose of the operation of the business, agency or organisation; and (e) communications in such other circumstances as may be prescribed; “provider”, for an online communication service, has the meaning given by section 2D; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “regulated online communication service” means an online communication service that is designated under section 45K(1) as a regulated online communication service; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “regulations” means regulations made under this Act; “securities”, in relation to a company, includes shares, debentures, bonds and other securities of the company, whether or not constituting a charge on the assets of the company; “shares”, in relation to a company, means shares in, or stock forming part of, the capital of the company; “Singapore end-user”, in relation to an online communication service, means any of the following end-users of the service: (a) an individual physically present in Singapore; (b) an entity which — (i) is incorporated under any written law; or (ii) is constituted or organised under a law of a foreign country or territory but registered under any written law; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “social media service” has the meaning given by section 45T; [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] “subscription broadcasting service” means a licensable broadcasting service made available to the audience for whom it is intended only upon the payment of a subscription fee; “subscription fee” means any form of consideration. [22/2016] (2) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, “part of the public” includes — (a) residents in a particular place; (b) employees of any firm, company or organisation; (c) occupiers of a particular building or part of the building; and (d) members of any profession, club or society. (3) For the purposes of this Act, a company is regarded as wholly owned by the Government at any time when all the issued shares in the company are held by or on behalf of the Government. (4) For the purposes of this Act, whether any communication of content by means of a broadcasting service or an online communication service is or is not of a private or domestic nature must be determined by having regard to all or any one of the following factors: (a) the number of individuals in Singapore who are able to access the content by means of the service; (b) any restrictions on who may access the content by means of the service (such as a requirement for approval or permission from a user, or the provider, of the service); (c) the relationship between the persons that the content is being or has been communicated; (d) any other relevant factor. [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] (5) However, for the purposes of subsection (4), the following factors do not count as restrictions on access to content communicated by means of a broadcasting service or an online communication service: (a) a requirement to log in to or register with the broadcasting service or online communication service (or part of such a service); (b) a requirement to make a payment or take out a subscription in order to access the broadcasting service or online communication service (or part of such a service) or to access particular content communicated by means of that service; (c) inability to access a broadcasting service or an online communication service (or part of such a service) or to access particular content communicated by means of that service except by using particular technology or a particular kind of device (as long as that technology or device is generally available to the public). [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] (6) In determining for the purposes of this Act whether an end-user is physically present in Singapore, it is to be assumed that the end-user will not falsify or conceal the end-user’s identity or location. [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] Meanings of “online communication service” and associated terms 2A.—(1) In this Act, an online communication service means an electronic service that is, or a part of an electronic service having the characteristics that are, specified in the Fourth Schedule. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), an electronic service means a service — (a) that — (i) enables end-users to access or communicate content on the Internet using that service, including a point-to-multipoint service; or (ii) delivers content on the Internet to persons having equipment appropriate for receiving that content, where the delivery of the service is by a service described in sub-paragraph (i); (b) that is a service — (i) between a point in Singapore and one or more other points in Singapore; or (ii) between a point and one or more other points, where the firstmentioned point is outside Singapore and at least one of the other points is inside Singapore; and (c) that is not an excluded electronic service. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(c), an excluded electronic service means — (a) an SMS service; (b) an MMS service; (c) an internet access service; (d) an electronic service where the only user-generated content enabled by that service is one-to-one live aural communications; (e) an electronic service where the only user-generated content enabled by that service is communication between 2 or more end-users that is of a private or domestic nature; (f) an electronic service where the user-generated content enabled by that service is accessible substantially or only to a closed group of end-users employed or engaged in a business (whether or not carried on for profit) and solely for their use as a tool in the conduct of that business; or (g) an electronic service that is prescribed by the Minister, by order in the Gazette, to be an excluded electronic service, after taking into account the functionalities of the service or the user-generated content enabled by that service or both. (4) References in this Act to an online communication service include such a service provided from outside Singapore as well as such a service provided in or from Singapore. (5) In this section — “functionality”, in relation to an electronic service, includes — (a) any feature that enables interactions of any description between end-users of the service; and (b) any feature that enables end-users to search online locations or databases, index search results or otherwise retrieve content from the search results; “MMS” means an electronic service that enables only the transmission of multimedia messages (such as visual or voice communication) from an end-user on a mobile telephone to another mobile telephone through a telecommunication service; “MMS message” means a message (whether or not accompanied by any sound or images) sent using an MMS; “one-to-one live aural communications”, in relation to an electronic service, means content — (a) consisting of speech or other sounds conveyed in real time between 2 end-users of the service by means of the service; (b) that is not a recording; and (c) that is not accompanied by user-generated content of any other description, except identifying content; “point-to-multipoint service” means an electronic service which allows an end-user to communicate content to more than one end-user simultaneously; “SMS” means an electronic service that only enables the transmission of short text messages from an end-user on a mobile telephone to another mobile telephone through a telecommunication service; “SMS message” means a text message sent using an SMS; “user-generated content”, in relation to an electronic service, means content — (a) that is — (i) generated directly on the service by an end-user of the service; or (ii) communicated by posting or sharing on the service by an end-user of the service; and (b) that may be accessed by another end-user of that service, or other users, of the service by means of that service. [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] Amendment of Fourth Schedule 2B.—(1) The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, revoke or replace, or add to, the Fourth Schedule. (2) Every order made under subsection (1) must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette. [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] Transitional arrangements for former licensable broadcasting service 2C.—(1) With effect from the date that a licensable broadcasting service is specified in the Fourth Schedule as an online communication service (called the conversion date) — (a) this Act ceases to apply to — (i) that service as a licensable broadcasting service; and (ii) the provider of that service as a broadcasting licensee; and (b) this Act then continues to apply to that service as an online communication service, and the former broadcasting licensee as a provider of an online communication service, but without affecting the following: (c) the enforcement by any person of any right or claim against the former broadcasting licensee; (d) the enforcement by the former broadcasting licensee of any right or claim against any person; (e) any proceeding under section 12(1) with respect to the former licensable broadcasting service that is pending immediately before the conversion date; (f) any appeal under section 12(2) or 59(1) with respect to the former licensable broadcasting service that is pending immediately before the conversion date. (2) Any proceeding and appeal mentioned in subsection (1)(e) and (f) may be continued under sections 12 and 59, respectively, as if the Fourth Schedule had not been enacted. [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023] Meaning of “provider” of online communication service 2D.—(1) Subject to this section, in this Act, the provider of an online communication service is the entity that has control over — (a) who can use the online communication service that is specified in the Fourth Schedule; (b) the operations of the characteristics of the electronic service that are specified in the Fourth Schedule in respect of the online communication service; or (c) which content is communicated or provided on the online communication service. (2) Where an online communication service is generated by a machine, the entity that controls the machine (and that entity alone) is to be treated as being the provider of the online communication service. (3) However, if no entity controls the machine mentioned in subsection (2), but an individual controls or individuals control the machine, the provider of the online communication service is to be treated as being that individual or those individuals. (4) If no entity has control over — (a) who can use the online communication service that is specified in the Fourth Schedule; (b) the operations of the characteristics of the electronic service that are specified in the Fourth Schedule in respect of the online communication service; or (c) which content is communicated or provided on the online communication service, but an individual has or individuals have control over who can do so, then that individual or those individuals is or are to be treated as being the provider of the online communication service. (5) Despite subsection (1), a person that provides an internet access service through which content on an online communication service may be accessed by end-users of the online communication service, is not to be treated as a person who has control over who can use the online communication service for the purposes of this Act. (6) Part 10A regulations may be made to specify who is to be treated as a provider of an online communication service where more than one entity is treated as the provider thereof under subsection (1). [Act 38 of 2022 wef 01/02/2023]