Singapore


OVERVIEW	There is no general data protection or privacy law in Singapore.
ENACTED	The Singapore Constitution’s Bill of Rights grants individuals the right to privacy.
GENERAL PRIVACY LAWS	Singapore has no overarching legislation for the protection of personal data. The Ministry of Finance has a small department handling privacy and data protection matters, primarily under banking specific legislation. Under Singapore’s common law, confidential information may be protected under a duty of confidence, which usually arises under a contractual obligation. Personal information is also protected under sector-specific laws such as the Banking Act, Statistics Act, the Official Secrets Act, and the Statutory Bodies and Government Companies (Protection of Secrecy Act). None of these regulate workplace monitoring, however. In February 2002, the National Internet Advisory Committee of Singapore released a “Model Data Protection Code for the Private Sector.” The Draft Code is modeled on the principles previously adopted by the EU Data Protection Directive (1995), the 1980 OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data, and the 1996 Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information. The Model Data Protection Code is voluntary and does not specifically address issues of workplace monitoring.
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION LAWS AND REGULATIONS	Personal Information.
TYPE OF DATA PROTECTED	Employer monitoring of employee phone calls, emails and Internet usage is permissible under Singapore law. Under Singapore property law, workplace email, telephone, and computer equipment is the property of the employer. As a result, if an employee loses his job based on communications at work, he has no ground for defense based on an invasion of privacy.
WORKPLACE PRIVACY LAWS	N/A
TRANSBORDER TRANSFERS	N/A
FINES AND SANCTIONS	Spam Control Act of 2007 Law on Bank Secrecy E-Commerce Act The Banking Act prohibits disclosure of financial information without the permission of the customer. There are numerous internal security laws that have implications for privacy.
OTHER PRIVACY LAWS AND REGULATIONS	There is no general data protection or privacy law in Singapore.