MCI shortens permit of Vogue Singapore for nudity, content promoting "non-traditional families"

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) issued Vogue Singapore a stern warning, and shortened its permit from one year to six months for breaching content guidelines, it said on Friday (Oct 14).

According to the press release, Vogue Singapore breached the content guidelines for local lifestyle magazines on four occasions within the past two years, for nudity and content that promoted non-traditional families.

During the period of Vogue Singapore’s breaches, the content guidelines have remained the same, said MCI, adding that Vogue Singapore is required to comply with the content guidelines as part of its permit conditions, which includes not undermining prevailing social norms.

"As a matter of process, Vogue Singapore’s current one-year permit has been revoked with effect from Oct 13, 2022," it added.

"Vogue Singapore has re-applied and MCI has since issued Vogue Singapore a six-month permit."

An MCI spokesperson told CNA that the last time a permit was shortened was when action was taken against local arts magazine Art Republik in 2014 for two severe breaches of the content guidelines for "religiously insensitive/ denigrative content".

Earlier cases include Cleo, which was placed on shorter permit in 2008, and Singapore FHM, which was placed on shorter permit in 1998. Both magazines made repeated breaches pertaining to content on sex, nudity and the promotion of promiscuity and permissive lifestyle, said the spokesperson.

According to local lifestyle magazines guidelines by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), such magazines "must be suitable for general readership and must not undermine family values".

The magazines are prohibited from carrying content which "undermine prevailing social norms by featuring nudity or by the use of coarse, vulgar or offensive language, or by the promotion of alternative lifestyles, deviant sex, sexually permissive lifestyles, crime, gambling, and drug/ substance abuse".

Content in these magazines are also not allowed to cause, or have the tendency to cause misunderstanding, insensitivity and disharmony among racial and religious groups, or undermine national interest and/or subvert national security or stability.