SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin, Drew & Napier LLC
the use of electronic or digital signatures in the following matters warrants further consideration: • the creation or execution of a will; • the creation, performance or enforcement of an indenture, a declaration of trust or a power of attorney, with the exception of implied, constructive and resulting trusts; • any contract for the sale or other disposition of immovable property or any interest in such property; and • the conveyance of immovable property or the transfer of any interest in immovable property. On 2 August 2023, the Oaths, Declarations and Notarisations (Remote Methods) Bill and the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No 2) Bill were passed in Parlia - ment. The Bills seek to introduce the option of making statutory declarations, oaths and affir - mations and to notarise documents through remote means, in line with the government’s ongoing efforts to facilitate electronic transac - tions, so as to implement greater convenience and efficiency for individuals and businesses in Singapore. In relation to video gaming, the FA will be rel - evant. Where games include features such as specific in-game purchases, loot boxes and gambling elements, the Gambling Control Act 2022 (GCA) may be relevant. Films Act 1981 The FA regulates, inter alia, the possession, importation, distribution and exhibition of films in Singapore. Under the FA, “film” is broadly defined to include a video game; accordingly, 9. Gaming Industry 9.1 Regulations
video games in Singapore may be regulated under the FA and be subject to the IMDA’s clas - sification guidelines and regulations. Under the FA, “video game” expressly excludes a video game made available by means of a computer online service that is a broadcasting service and is played: • on a mobile device or other device onto which the video game has been installed; or • while the player is using a broadcasting service that enables end users to access the internet. Any person who in the course of any business imports, distributes or publicly exhibits films is required to obtain a licence. With certain excep - tions, all films and videos distributed and exhib - ited in Singapore must be submitted to the IMDA for classification and certification. Distributors of offline single-player video games are automatically class-licensed, and must enforce the relevant age restrictions and adhere to the licence conditions, as well as any addi - tional classification conditions imposed by the IMDA. Video games that contain classifiable ele - ments will be rated Advisory 16 or Mature 18, and will need to be affixed with the correspond - ing rating labels and consumer advice. The IMDA's Video Game Classification Guide - lines set out the general principles and content concerns that the IMDA considers in its classi - fication process and aims to reflect community standards. In general, the IMDA’s classification process is guided by the following principles: • generally accepted social norms and values; • the need to protect the young; • racial/religious harmony;
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