Consumer protection
& community empowerment
In 2013, MDA revised the Content Guidelines for Local Lifestyle Magazines to provide clarity to publishers and allow consumers to make more informed choices. The main changes to the guidelines include grouping magazines into three categories - teen, general-interest and adult-interest - with specific guidelines for each. To bring about greater parity in the sale of local and foreign magazines, local magazines which carry adult-interest content are now required to be shrink-wrapped with consumer advice - “Unsuitable for the Young”. This also allows local magazines to carry mature content while signaling to parents that such content is not appropriate for the young. The guidelines were reviewed in consultation with the Publications Consultative Panel, a community group comprising members from a cross section of society, as well as the Magazine Publishers Association of Singapore (MPAS).
Last year, MDA also classified 8,143 videos, 1,918 films and 314 video game titles for distribution. The same year also saw MDA issuing 1,314 arts entertainment licences and processing 65 channel applications for the free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters. MDA also reviewed 793 publications and audio materials, with 238 new local publications being issued permits.
