SINGAPORE — Internet Service Providers (ISPs) here could soon be required to offer some parental Internet controls for free, in light of low subscription rates and knowledge of such tools, which are aimed at helping parents monitor and guide their children’s Internet usage.

They could also be required to get consumers to confirm in writing or verbally whether they wish to subscribe to controls such as network filters and scheduled Internet access, said the Media Development Authority (MDA), which is seeking to enhance consumers’ awareness and understanding of such controls.

Since 2012, ISPs have been required to inform consumers of parental control services when they sign up for residential and mobile Internet subscriptions or when they renew their contracts.

However, the adoption rate of such tools is still “low” at slightly more than 100,000 sign-ups, said MDA Chief Executive Officer Koh Lin-Net at a media briefing yesterday detailing the authority’s proposals, which are now open to public consultation.

“If the subscription were low because people decided they didn’t want to subscribe, that’s fine. But the awareness is not even there, so they are not even thinking about whether they want to subscribe,” Ms Koh said, citing focus group discussions the MDA held at the end of last year, which found that awareness among parents was “quite low”.

“That says something about awareness of the safety measures that could have been there for children … which are not being used,” she added.

Hence, the MDA has proposed a set of enhancements to current requirements, among which is getting ISPs to obtain written or verbal instruction from consumers on whether or not they want these tools. The authority hopes this will lead to consumers asking for more information on them and becoming more familiar with their functions.

And noting that some focus group participants had flagged subscription cost as a reason for low take-up rates, the MDA proposed that some functions be made free, while more “premium” functions can be offered for a fee.

Currently, these services cost between S$2 and S$5 a month, with some ISPs offering free subscription for a limited period.

The authority is also proposing that “adult content” be filtered by default when Internet parental controls are switched on and mandating that ISPs offer filtering services at the network level — and not only at the device level — to aid adoption by parents who may be less technologically-savvy or find installing tools on each device too tedious.

However, no solution is foolproof, be it children circumventing filters with proxies or using a friend’s unblocked device. “The use of parental control tools is not a panacea. General awareness of what it takes to be a media literate parent is still important,” said Ms Koh.

When contacted, StarHub, M1 and SingTel said parental control services are offered at point of sale and stressed that it is easy to sign up for such services. MyRepublic did not respond to queries.

“For instance, all a customer has to do is to tick a box on the application form or call our sales hotline at 1630 to subscribe. We have also been promoting this value-added service through various means, including brochures, advertisements and on our website,” said a StarHub spokesperson.

“Nevertheless, at the end of the day, there is no substitute for active parental supervision when it comes to educating children on the appropriate use of the Internet.”

A SingTel spokesman said: “We will review MDA’s proposals and provide our comments in due course. As new adult content is constantly uploaded to the Internet, it is challenging to provide a completely child-proof filtering service. We seek to work with the MDA to determine the most convenient, reliable and effective way to protect our children.”

Parents TODAY spoke to were unaware of such services currently offered by ISPs. Merchandiser Betty Ho, 36, said she would have used the service to prevent her two children from surfing adult content websites, had she known.

Mrs Chiu, 27, a self-employed mother of two, who declined to give her full name, said: “My service provider has never ever advised me that they have such services ... It’s definitely useful because some of the things my kids watch on YouTube through links are quite disturbing — videos of military shootings, videos full of swearing and even videos of animal and child abuse. It’s upsetting that they can view them, but I don’t have the time to sit beside them and monitor whenever they play with the iPad.”

The public consultation exercise will run for three weeks. The MDA hopes to roll out the enhancements by the beginning of next year.