The Cyber Security Agency has published a consultation paper on the proposed Cybersecurity (Amendment) Bill, which would amend the Cybersecurity Act 2018. The CAB seeks to strengthen the legal framework governing the maintenance of national cybersecurity in Singapore, against the pressing need for legislation to effectively address the fast-developing technological environment.
On 7 February 2024, Enterprise Singapore and the Info-communications Media Development Authority launched the Generative AI Sandbox for small and medium-sized enterprises. Through the sandbox, SMEs will be able to receive funding support to experience Generative AI enterprise solutions over a three-month period. This initiative builds on Singapore’s existing efforts to strengthen the development and ecosystem of AI locally.
On 30 January 2024, the Health Science Authority (HSA) announced it had seized over 1.12 million units of illegal health products and removed over 12,000 listings of illegal health products from local e-commerce and social media platforms in 2023 through targeted operations, intelligence sharing and joint enforcement efforts with local and overseas agencies.
Illegal health products include unregistered or counterfeit health products, as well as products with potent medicinal ingredients or banned substances illegally added to them.
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and AI Verify Foundation have announced the draft Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI (Framework), which adopts a systematic and balanced approach to addressing concerns posed by generative AI (GenAI) while continuing to facilitate innovation. The Framework expands on the Model AI Governance Framework that covered traditional AI, which was last updated in 2020.
On 12 January 2024, the Health Sciences Authority issued an update on products found and reported by overseas regulators to contain potent ingredients that are prohibited and may lead to side effects.
On 18 January 2024, the World Health Organization issued new guidance on the ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health, focusing on large multimodal models (LMMs). The WHO guidance summarizes the broad applications of LMMs in the healthcare industry and includes recommendations for governments, which have the primary responsibility of setting standards for the development and deployment of LMMs, and their integration and use for public health and medical purposes.
The Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries Code of Conduct has been amended to increase limits for providing hospitality in relation to food and drinks during events, and to clarify that company-branded, single-use, disposable tableware are permitted at third-party events. The revisions are effective from 1 February 2024.
On 9 January 2024, the Parliament of Singapore passed the Significant Investments Review Bill (“Bill”).
This Bill strengthens the Singapore government’s regulatory toolkit for investments in local and foreign entities that are significant to Singapore’s national security interests and ensures greater regulatory flexibility in safeguarding Singapore’s evolving national security interests. At the same time, the Bill has been designed to align with international norms and preserve Singapore’s open and investment-friendly economy.
The Ministry of Health has commenced an investigation into a company allegedly offering doctors healthcare awards in exchange for signing up for a promotional package.
The MOH has raised that this is a potential breach of the Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations.
The Singapore government has once again recognized the importance of AI in the healthcare industry, outlining a three-pronged approach on how to harness the potential of AI in the industry.
In the long-run, the increasing use of AI would serve to deliver better diagnosis and treatment; early detection, prevention and prediction of diseases; faster drug development; and better understand the risks around intervention and how to stratify it. In the shorter term, the use of AI may help to enhance clinical decision support; increase productivity of healthcare teams; and support individuals.