IMDA audits 7,000 apps, flags 65 harmful and 24 wrongly age-rated ones

As part of its first online safety assessment since the introduction of the App Distribution Services (ADS) Code in March last year , Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) conducted mystery shopper testing of more than 7,000 apps across five designated App Distribution Services (D-ADSs).

The five D-ADSs, commonly referred to as app stores, are the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Huawei AppGallery, Microsoft Store, and Samsung Galaxy Store.

In a media release issued on Saturday (Oct 24), the authority said its online safety assessment report aims to help Singapore users, particularly parents, make informed decisions about online safety risks and the safety measures available on different app stores.

The report is also intended to strengthen accountability among app store operators and encourage them to keep users safe online.

"This is part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Singapore’s online safety regulations and public education, to better address the growing range of harmful online content and protect Singapore users from online harms," IMDA said.

According to the regulator, Singapore is among the first countries in the world to regulate app stores for online safety and publish a comprehensive assessment of their online safety measures.

Other jurisdictions with some form of age assurance and/or safety measures include Australia, the European Union and Malaysia.

IMDA said its report assessed the effectiveness of age assurance measures and enhanced protections for children; safety measures to remove egregious and harmful apps, including the assignment of appropriate age-ratings; and user reporting and resolution measures.

And while the regulator found that all app stores have baseline safety measures in place, with age assurance measures present and generally well implemented, it also found room for improvement in removing apps with harmful content and ensuring apps are assigned appropriate age ratings.

IMDA's testing also uncovered weaknesses in some app review and moderation processes.

65 harmful apps found, including those containing sexual, violent and vice-related content

A total of 65 apps were found to contain harmful content that violated the app stores' own policies, while 24 apps were assigned lower age ratings despite containing content that should have been rated 18+.

IMDA also found instances where under-18 users were not restricted by default from downloading 18+ apps on some app stores.

According to IMDA, the apps included sexual content, content facilitating vice and organised crime, and violent content. The apps were identified during IMDA's mystery shopper testing of more than 7,000 apps across the five designated app stores.

These apps were removed or re-rated only after IMDA notified the app stores, which the regulator said points to weaknesses in some app review processes.

While the number of such apps was small relative to the large number of apps available on app stores, IMDA said the findings show that harmful and age-inappropriate apps can still slip through existing safeguards, underscoring the need for app stores to strengthen their content moderation and app review processes.

"IMDA will continue to hold D-ADSs responsible for ensuring that users’ access or exposure to harmful content on their services are minimised, and that age ratings are applied accurately and consistently," the regulator said.

It added that accurate age ratings are important to reduce children's exposure to age-inappropriate content and help parents and guardians make informed decisions about apps used by their children.

Meanwhile, IMDA found inconsistencies in how app stores informed users of the outcomes of reports submitted through their reporting channels.

Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store were also found not to have notified users within six months after an app they had downloaded was removed from the platform.

The regulator said the app stores have acknowledged the identified weaknesses and have either already rectified them or are working towards solutions to address them.

Commenting on its inaugural report, the authority reminded users that while the app stores have safeguards to help protect children under 18, everyone can play a part in fostering a safer online environment, especially for children.

"IMDA will continue to work with the D-ADSs to ensure that these measures are effectively implemented and that identified gaps are addressed," it said.

作为自去年 3 月推出应用程序分发服务 (ADS) 准则以来首次进行的在线安全评估的一部分，新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局 (IMDA) 对五个指定应用程序分发服务 (D-ADS) 中的 7000 多个应用程序进行了神秘顾客测试。

五大 D-ADS，通常被称为应用商店，分别是苹果应用商店、谷歌应用商店、华为应用市场、微软商店和三星应用商店。

该机构在周六（10 月 24 日）发布的新闻稿中表示，其网络安全评估报告旨在帮助新加坡用户，特别是家长，就网络安全风险和不同应用商店提供的安全措施做出明智的决定。

该报告还旨在加强应用商店运营商的问责制，并鼓励他们保障用户在线安全。

“这是政府持续努力加强新加坡网络安全法规和公众教育的一部分，旨在更好地应对日益增多的有害网络内容，并保护新加坡用户免受网络危害，”新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局表示。

据监管机构称，新加坡是世界上首批对应用程序商店的在线安全进行监管并发布其在线安全措施全面评估的国家之一。

其他设有某种形式的年龄保证和/或安全措施的地区包括澳大利亚、欧盟和马来西亚。

IMDA表示，其报​​告评估了年龄保证措施和加强对儿童保护的有效性；移除严重有害应用程序的安全措施，包括分配适当的年龄评级；以及用户举报和解决措施。

虽然监管机构发现所有应用商店都已采取基本的安全措施，并已实施年龄保证措施，但总体上仍存在改进空间，例如移除含有有害内容的应用以及确保应用获得适当的年龄评级。

IMDA的测试还发现一些应用程序的审核和监管流程存在缺陷。

共发现 65 款有害应用程序，其中包括包含色情、暴力和不良内容的应用程序。

总共发现 65 个应用程序包含违反应用商店自身政策的有害内容，而 24 个应用程序尽管包含本应评级为 18+ 的内容，却被赋予了较低的年龄评级。

新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局 (IMDA) 还发现，某些应用商店默认情况下并未限制 18 岁以下用户下载 18 岁以上应用。

据新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局（IMDA）称，这些应用程序包含色情内容、助长卖淫和有组织犯罪的内容以及暴力内容。这些应用程序是在IMDA对五大指定应用商店的7000多个应用程序进行神秘顾客测试时发现的。

这些应用只有在新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局（IMDA）通知应用商店后才被移除或重新评级，监管机构表示，这表明某些应用审核流程存在缺陷。

虽然此类应用程序的数量相对于应用商店中大量的应用程序而言较少，但新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局 (IMDA) 表示，调查结果表明，有害和不适合年龄的应用程序仍然可以绕过现有的安全措施，这凸显了应用商店加强内容审核和应用程序审查流程的必要性。

新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局（IMDA）表示：“IMDA将继续要求数字广告服务商（D-ADS）承担责任，确保用户在其服务中接触到有害内容的可能性降至最低，并确保年龄分级得到准确、一致的应用。”

报告还指出，准确的年龄评级对于减少儿童接触不适宜年龄的内容至关重要，并有助于家长和监护人就孩子使用的应用程序做出明智的决定。

与此同时，IMDA发现应用商店在告知用户通过其举报渠道提交的举报结果方面存在不一致之处。

调查还发现，谷歌应用商店和三星应用商店在用户下载的应用从平台下架后的六个月内，没有通知用户。

监管机构表示，应用商店已经承认了已发现的缺陷，并且要么已经纠正了这些缺陷，要么正在努力寻找解决方案来解决这些缺陷。

该机构在评论其首份报告时提醒用户，虽然应用商店有安全措施来帮助保护 18 岁以下的儿童，但每个人都可以为营造更安全的在线环境贡献一份力量，尤其是对儿童而言。

“新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局（IMDA）将继续与各地区授权分销商（D-ADS）合作，确保这些措施得到有效实施，并解决已发现的差距，”该机构表示。