Singapore unveils new tools for data protection, safe AI use

The initiatives aim to boost innovation, anchored by privacy and safety standards.

Singapore has introduced three new tech governance initiatives: a Global AI Assurance Sandbox, a guide for adopting privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), and the Singapore Standard for Data Protection.

These initiatives build on existing efforts to create space for maximal innovation by companies, whilst providing the appropriate guardrails so that the public can use these technologies with confidence, Minister for Digital Development and Information and Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and Smart Nation Group, Josephine Teo, said at the Personal Data Protection Summit 2025.  

The AI Sandbox, developed by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), aims to provide tools, resources, and a safe environment for organisations to trial responsible AI applications. 

Insights from the Sandbox will inform policy guidance with the aim of developing accreditation for testers.

It will also leverage IMDA’s recently launched Starter Kit for Safety Testing of Large Language Model-based applications to provide a more standardised, structured manner of operation for the testers.

The Sandbox will also be open to sector regulators who want to develop and get real-life feedback on their AI governance/testing guidelines.

In the field of data protection, the Data Protection Trustmark certification will be elevated to a new Singapore Standard.

In parallel, the government released a PET adoption guide, which allows AI to be trained on data sources without compromising an individual’s privacy.

Since the launch of the Global AI Assurance pilot at the Paris AI Action Summit earlier this year, the AI Verify Foundation and IMDA have now expanded the pilot to cover new archetypes, such as agentic AI and risks, such as data leakage and vulnerability to prompt injections.