In a recent decision by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) in Re Fullerton Healthcare Group Pte Limited and Agape CP Holdings Pte Ltd [2023] SGPDPC 5, the PDPC found that the respondents breached the protection obligation under the Personal Data Protection Act and ordered each of them to pay a financial penalty.
The Online Criminal Harms Bill was passed in parliament on 5 July 2023, after its second reading. The bill follows a suite of legislation aimed at protecting the public from harms in the online space and introduces mechanisms for authorities to more effectively tackle online criminal activity.
Phase 2 of the Healthcare Services Act 2020 (HCSA) has been implemented with effect from 26 June 2023. Under Phase 2, medical or dental healthcare providers who deliver services outside the premises of clinics and via teleconsultation will be required to hold a HCSA license, along with service providers offering outpatient medical and dental services, nuclear medicine, and outpatient renal dialysis, among others.
In June 2023, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) participated in a one-week INTERPOL-led, internet-based operation involving 16 member countries targeting the sale of illegal health products. The HSA announced that it had removed over 2,000 listings of illegal health products from local e-commerce platforms and detected over 300 parcels shipped into Singapore from overseas containing illegal sexual enhancement products during a week of intensified surveillance from 1 June to 7 June 2023.
A Singapore-based healthcare services provider and its vendor have been fined a total of SGD 68,000 following a data breach incident which led to patients’ data being put up for sale on the dark web in 2021.
On 8 May 2023, the Online Criminal Harms Bill was introduced for its first reading in the Parliament. The Bill follows a suite of legislation aimed at protecting the public from harms in the online space, and introduces mechanisms for authorities to more effectively tackle online criminal activity.
On 9 May 2023, the Ministry of Communications and Information published a statement by its minister announcing plans to issue Advisory Guidelines on the Use of Personal Data in AI Systems under the Personal Data Protection Act. Singapore had previously launched A.I. Verify, the world’s first AI governance testing framework and toolkit for companies that wish to demonstrate responsible AI in an objective and verifiable manner. By issuing the Advisory Guidelines, the government plans to support the responsible development and deployment of AI so that its benefits may be enjoyed in a safe and trusted manner.
On 18 May 2023, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) issued a warning against Salon One Pte Ltd and its related entities for its unfair practices under the Consumer Protection Fair Trading Act 2003. Investigations by the CCCS revealed that Salon One had made unsubstantiated representations on its herbal head spa treatment as being able to prevent various diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, brain stroke, etc. Salon One had also made false representations that there were price discounts, where in fact such discounts never existed as they were discounted from prices that were never offered.
The Therapeutic Products Branch of the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) is intending to implement electronic common technical document (eCTD) submissions in Singapore. eCTD is a standard structured format for companies to transfer regulatory information related to therapeutic products to facilitate dossier submissions. The HSA has invited industry stakeholders to participate in the industry consultation on eCTD submissions up until 12 June 2023.
On 2 May 2023, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) released a draft update to its guidance document on the risk classification of in vitro diagnostic medical devices. The key updates include clarification notes on the classification of control materials and software, and clarifications on several risk classification rules.