Android users in S’pore to be blocked from installing unverified apps as part of anti-scam trial
Android users in S’pore to be blocked from installing unverified apps as part of anti-scam trial
An update will progressively arrive on all Android users’ devices and will be enabled by default through Google Play protect. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Meanwhile, other laws in Singapore (with some exceptions):
- No Smoking in Public. Fines up to $200, increasing to $1,000 if taken to court.
- E-Cigarettes are Prohibited. Fines up to $10,000, imprisonment up to 6 months; subsequent offence up to $20,000, mprisonment up to 12 months.
- No Eating or Drinking on Public Transport. Fine up to $500.
- No Playing Musical Instruments in Public. Fine up to $1,000.
- No Connecting to Someone Else’s Wi-Fi. Fine up to $10,000, imprisonment up to 3 years; subsequent offence up to $20,000, imprisonment up to 5 years.
- No Importing or Selling Chewing Gum. Importation fine up to $100,000 or imprisonment up to 2 years; subsequent offence up to $200,000 or imprisonment up to 3 years. Sale fine up to $2,000.
- No Drinking After 10.30pm. Fine up to $1,000 (first offence), up to $2,000 and/or imprisonment up to 3 months (repeat offence).
- Don’t Feed the Pigeons. Fine up to $500.
- Don’t Feed Any Wildlife. Fine up to $5,000, or up to $10,000 for subsequent offences.
- Flush the Toilet. Fine up to $1,000.
- No Littering. Fine up to $2,000 (first conviction), $4,000 (second conviction), $10,000 (subsequent convictions).
- No Singing Explicit Lyrics. Imprisonment up to three months and/or a fine.
Life is grand!
I understand and agree with most of these. But the fines are pretty high.
No Connecting to Someone Else’s Wi-Fi. Fine up to $10,000
I'm wondering if this is enforced or is a tack-on to when someone is caught using someone else's wifi to run scams or other illegal activity.
No Drinking After 10.30pm. Fine up to $1,000
This is my biggest objection. That's like when all the good drinking happens.
Flush the Toilet. Fine up to $1,000.
Lol. What? This has to be for public toilets. The fine is pretty ridiculous.
No Singing Explicit Lyrics. Imprisonment up to three months and/or a fine.
Can you curse regularly?
This is my biggest objection. That's like when all the good drinking happens.
I guess that's the issue with the lack of information in these copied and pasted laws.
That law only applies to drinking in public. You can simply go to a bar and drink all you want.
It was implemented after the Little India riot incident in 2013.
If you're caught drinking in public, you're probably going to just get a warning and receive instructions to dispose of the alcohol. But things would be a lot different if you refuse to do so.
Can you curse regularly?
Haha, apparently, there is no direct law against cursing, but they can still throw these at you:
Disorderly behavior: Under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, using abusive or insulting language in public can be considered disorderly behavior. This offense carries a maximum penalty of 6 months imprisonment, a fine of up to S$2,000, or both. The key factors here are the volume, tone, and target of the language. Shouting profanities at someone in a way that creates a disturbance could fall under this category.
Abusing a public servant: The Protection from Harassment Act protects public servants from verbal abuse, including threats and insults. Using abusive language towards a police officer, teacher, or other public service worker while they're performing their duties is an offense with a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both.
The above comment also is in SGD, not much solace.
My question is always how do they enforce this really?
I bet they don't have to do too much to enforce some of these laws. Singapore is one of the places (along with Japan) with really low crime rate. The legend (see youtube) is that, if you leave your iPhone on a table in a coffee shop, you can come back to claim it a few hours later. A good part of it is probably because of socioeconomic reasons.
Otherwise, I also bet it's just your getting caught by the authorities (with whatever Orwellian technologies they use to catch you) and your being reported by people surrounding you.
Undercook, overcook - straight to jail!
I honestly support the flush the toilet fines.
People are so nasty in public bathrooms here in the States.
Translation: we are getting ready to roll out massive censorship and additional surveillance
So...what does this mean for those who have F-Droid or Aurora Store installed on their phones? Will apps from those stores be considered "unverified" by Google's standards?
Just a few days ago a friend showed me that play protect has marked Yet Another Call Blocker from F-droid as malicious on their phone.
It seems to only be specific apps with very specific permissions like call logs or SMS.
I recon aurora store should still work since it's providing the playstore stuff, just a bit more privacy friendly afaik.
So it's still an opt-in. You can disable play protect and bypass the tool.
So that's an opt-out
Singapore: you plebs are too stupid to protect yourselves, so we use state machinery to ensure you don't do stupid stuff
The update will progressively arrive on all Android users’ devices and will be enabled by default through Google Play Protect, said Google’s director of android security strategy Eugene Liderman
This is not reddit. Please don't comment just on the headline.
The security tool will work in the background to detect apps that use suspicious permissions, like the ability to spy on screen content or read SMS messages.
What has "suspicious" got to do with "malicious"?
Permanently Deleted