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Infocomm Media Development Authority

Statutory board of the Singapore government

Summary

Statutory board of the Singapore government

FieldValue
agency_nameInfocomm Media Development Authority
logoInfocomm Media Development Authority logo.svg
logo_width250px
formed
preceding1Infocomm Development Authority (IDA)
preceding2Media Development Authority (MDA)
jurisdictionGovernment of Singapore
budgetS$34 million (2011)
headquarters10 Pasir Panjang Road, #03-01, Mapletree Business City, Singapore 117438
chief1_nameChan Yeng Kit
chief1_positionChairman
chief2_nameLew Chuen Hong
chief2_positionCEO
parent_agencyMinistry of Digital Development and Information
website

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).

History

The Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) was the statutory board that acted as the national regulator and promoter of the telecommunication and postal industries in Singapore. Prior to 1992, the TAS also managed postal and telecommunications services until Singtel and Singapore Post were split off from the board as corporatised entities.

In 1999, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) was formed in 1999 from the merger of the TAS and National Computer Board (NCB).

Following the passing of the Info-communications Media Development Authority Bill in Parliament on 16 August 2016, the IDA and the Media Development Authority (MDA) were restructured and merged into the IMDA with effect from 30 September that year.

Key functions

IMDA provides numerous programmes, policies and grants that cater to industries and communities. IMDA also protects consumers' privacy through the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC). Since 2019, IMDA administrates the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 through the dedicated POFMA Office.

Classifications

There are classification systems for the following types of media: films, TV programs, video games, and arts entertainment (e.g., theatrical productions). Films and TV programs both use the same rating system. Free-to-air TV content must also adhere to additional restrictions, as outlined in Section 5 of the Content Code. @@@@@@@@@@ | IMPORTANT NOTE: Please DO NOT add any comparisons to other countries' | | ratings systems (i.e., adding, "this rating is similar to X-country's | | rating", etc.), or examples of video games or films. We do not need any| | comprehensive or all-inclusive lists of other ratings systems from | | other countries, or of every single video game and/or movie. This is | | NOT a place to promote your country's system, or your favorite media. | | Any edits doing so - regardless of having a source or not - are a | | violation of WP:TRIVIA and will be reverted. Repeat violators will be | | blocked. Thank you for your cooperation. | @@@@@@@@@@

BadgeRatingtitle=FILM CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINESurl=https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/Imda/Files/Regulation-Licensing-and-Consultations/Codes-of-Practice-and-Guidelines/Acts-Codes/Film-Classification-Guidelines-29_Apr_2019.pdfaccess-date=2022-12-28website=IMDA.gov.sg}}
[[File:IMDA_Age_Rating_-_General_Audiences.svg32x32px]]General (G)Suitable for persons of all ages.
[[File:IMDA Age Rating - Parental Guidance.svgframeless32x32px]]Parental Guidance (PG)Suitable for persons of all ages, but parental guidance is recommended for younger viewers. This rating is merely an advisory, and is not legally enforced - however, film distributors and TV providers must prominently display this rating in marketing and/or at the start of the program.
[[File:IMDA Age Rating - Parental Guidance for Under 13.svgframeless32x32px]]Parental Guidance for Children Under 13 (PG13)Parental guidance is advised for those under the age of 13 years old. This is also an advisory rating, similar to PG. Content that carries this rating or higher must also provide consumer advice as to why it received this rating, e.g 'Violence', 'Language', or 'Horror'.
[[File:IMDA Age Rating - No Children Under 16.svgframeless64x64px]]No Children Under 16 (NC16)title=Golden Village - Frequently Asked questionsurl=https://www.gv.com.sg/access-date=2022-12-28website=www.gv.com.sglanguage=en}}
[[File:IMDA Age Rating - Mature 18.svgframeless64x64px]]Mature 18 (M18)Restricted to persons aged 18 or above. Similar to NC16, photo identification is required when watching a rated film in a cinema.
[[File:IMDA Age Rating - Restricted 21.svgframeless64x64px]]Restricted 21 (R21)Restricted to persons aged 21 or above. This is the highest rating in the current classification system - like NC16 and M18, this is also legally enforced.
Refused ClassificationDenotes content that was not approved for release in Singapore under any classification. This is not an official rating under the current system, but was formerly used by the MDA to denote films that were refused classification, and it is now used as semi-official descriptor today.

Following a later-lifted ban of the video game Mass Effect in November 2007 for containing a same-sex romance scene, IMDA announced that a new classification system for games will be put in place early 2008. Since April 2008, video games that are sold in Singapore are required to undergo classification.

As of 2022, there are 2 ratings for video games: Mature 18 and Advisory 16. Games without contentious content fall within the “General” category, and they do not require Singapore-specific rating labels. Games only need to be classified if they are physically sold in Singapore. However, some digital storefronts like Steam may display the classification rating to local users if one is available.

RatingFull BadgeIconNotes
Advisory 16(ADV16)[[File:IMDA ADV16 label box.svgframeless]][[File:IMDA Age Rating - Advisory 16 (ADV16).svgcenterframeless84x84px]]Suitable for individuals who are at least 16 years old. Unlike the NC16 rating, this is an advisory rating, and is not legally enforced.
Mature 18(M18)No official badge after July 2021[[File:IMDA Age Rating - Mature 18.svgcenterframeless112x112px]]Restricted to individuals who are at least 18 years old. This is legally enforced, and customers who attempt to purchase these games must present photo identification. Prior to July 2021, the distributor needed to purchase official labels from IMDA - today, distributors can simply self-print the labels.

References

References

  1. (15 June 2020). "New chief executive appointed to Infocomm Media Development Authority".
  2. "Agency Details - Government Records - Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS)".
  3. (2016-08-26). "Parliament passes Info-communications Media Development Authority Bill - Channel NewsAsia".
  4. "IMDA to Empower Businesses, Workers and Communities to Seize Opportunities in a Digital Future".
  5. Choudhury, Amit Roy. (2016-01-19). "IDA, MDA restructuring to create new entities (Amended)".
  6. "About IMDA".
  7. (8 May 2019). "IMDA to set up POFMA office to administer fake news law: S Iswaran".
  8. "CONTENT CODE FOR NATIONWIDE MANAGED TRANSMISSION LINEAR TELEVISION SERVICES".
  9. "FILM CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES".
  10. "Television and Radio".
  11. "Golden Village - Frequently Asked questions".
  12. Mohktar, Faris. (2014-09-11). "Tan Pin Pin's film To Singapore, With Love not to be shown in public". Channel NewsAsia.
  13. Boyes, Emma. (2007-11-15). "Singapore bans Mass Effect".
  14. Boyes, Emma. (2007-11-16). "Singapore unbans Mass Effect".
  15. Leung, Wai-Leng. (2007-11-17). "MDA lifts ban on game with same-sex love scene". [[Singapore Press Holdings]].
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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