Singapore Orders Social Media to Block Unauthorized Ads

Singapore has ordered Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to block financial-services ads from providers that lack local authorization, under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA). The Singapore Police Force (SPF) announced the requirements, giving the three platforms until Jan. 31, 2027, to comply.

The move follows police data showing social-media platforms accounted for about 30% of reported scam cases in Singapore in 2025, with Facebook alone at about 18%.

Contents

01

What the New Social Media Code Requires

02

Broader Duties for Platforms and Advertisers

03

Penalties and Scam Trends

What the New Social Media Code Requires

On 17 August 2026, SPF issued three Codes of Practice under OCHA, including a new Social Media Code replacing the existing Online Communication Code. It applies to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, which police identified as posing the highest scam risk to users.

Under the code, platforms must reject ads offering financial services or products to Singapore users unless the advertiser is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), another applicable Singapore authority, or is authorized by a licensed entity. Platforms must also review all ads before publication and prevent ads from going live when there is reason to suspect they support a scam or malicious cyber activity, including screening for URL cloaking.

Broader Duties for Platforms and Advertisers

The advertiser definition reaches beyond the company named in a promotion, covering brand owners, merchants, advertising and public-relations agencies, content creators, influencers, affiliate marketers and other intermediaries that help create or distribute an ad.

Platforms must verify advertisers' identities against government-issued records before publishing ads. Other duties include promptly removing suspected scam ads, acting on user reports within 24 hours, retaining specified account data for at least 90 days and filing an annual report.

Penalties and Scam Trends

Under the existing OCHA framework, the OCHA Office may issue a Rectification Notice. Failure to comply without a reasonable excuse carries a maximum fine of S$1 million, plus up to S$100,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed amendments in Parliament in August 2026, allowing the OCHA Office to issue a financial penalty not exceeding S$10 million (about US$7.83 million) per instance of non-compliance, or direct rectification via a Rectification Notice or Compliance Order. The amendment is before Parliament and not yet in force, with more details at the Bill's Second Reading in September 2026.

Police reported that scam cases on designated online services in Singapore fell by about 37% between 2024 and 2025, though SPF said multiple factors affected the total. TikTok was designated under the earlier Online Communication Code on 1 September 2025 following a 240% increase in scam cases in 2024.

For retail users, the rules underscore a basic safeguard: verify that any financial-services promoter holds a valid local license with the relevant Singapore authority.