SMU team lauded for ideas to protect women online

A team of four Singapore Management University (SMU) students proposed a feature to be set up on messaging app Telegram to allow women to watermark their nude photos with the recipient's name, so as to deter mass forwarding of the photos.

They also suggested that anti-forwarding technology be implemented for the app to prevent immediate leaks of nude photos.

The team was one of four winners of Hackathon for a Better World. The theme for this year's competition was tackling online harms against women and girls.

Speaking at the virtual award ceremony yesterday, Minister of State for Communications and Information Tan Kiat How said: "The risk of exposure to online harms and threats has increased significantly.

"The Government cannot tackle this issue alone. Events such as this hackathon are an important avenue to bring together like-minded individuals from all walks of lives... to tackle online harms."

Organised by DBS Bank, the Singapore judiciary and the Ministry of Communications and Information, the hackathon saw 28 teams come up with solutions to foster a safer online space over a two-month period from July 21.

The SMU team, Go Women, whose proposal won the Most Innovative Idea Award, said it joined the hackathon to help women who were victims of leaked nude photos.

The now-defunct SG Nasi Lemak chat group on Telegram, which hosted obscene photos and videos - including some of Singapore women - was a "push factor" in the team's decision to create solutions to prevent sexual crimes online.

Go Women team member Liew Qian Hui, 20, said: "Seeing Telegram groups abused in this way is a clear indication that there are not enough measures to protect vulnerable women online."

Ms Liew and teammates Exceline Darmawan and Celeste Ng, both 20, are in their second year at law school. The fourth member, Ms Lee Xin Yi, 21, is a third-year law and business undergraduate.

Ms Lee said: "If potential perpetrators feel that they may be caught, or if the nude photos can be easily traced back to them, they may think twice about forwarding a woman's nude photos."

The Most Human-Centred Award went to a team that proposed offering mental health support to the partners of perpetrators of online sexual violence.

The award for Most Feasible Idea went to a team from law firm Shook Lin & Bok, which proposed to help victims of image-based sexual abuse via education and clinics.

A team from the State Courts won the Most Life-Changing Idea Award for its solutions to help women whose photos have received lewd comments online.

The winning teams each won $1,000 in shopping vouchers.

High Court Judge Aedit Abdullah, who was a guest of honour at the event, said: "Online harm is an area of great concern, affecting the lives of many, especially the young.

"It is thus timely for the hackathon this year to focus on online harms, promoting the development of solutions to protect against or prevent these harms."