Policy Prototyping

With the objective to promote responsible use of data and supporting businesses’ data innovation while building consumer trust, IMDA works closely with the industry and supports them through policy prototyping and data regulatory sandbox. With data protection policies in place to facilitate responsible data sharing, IMDA supports companies in optimising their operations and driving growth through the power of data.

Since Oct 2018, IMDA has been collaborating with Facebook (now known as Meta) on policy prototyping through the Facebook Startup Station Singapore (subsequently renamed as Facebook Accelerator Singapore) to support regional start-ups focusing on innovative use of data. Participating start-ups and selected industry partners, with the support of IMDA, are guided through new concepts that promote responsible data use and build consumer trust. Through initiatives such as dynamic consent during data collection and embedding explainability in AI products, IMDA and its partners promote the innovative and ethical use of data for SMEs.

As part of the programme, these start-ups and industry partners participated in Design Jams and worked with experts from Meta’s TTC Labs and Open Loop, as well as UI/UX experts, to improve their product design. The programme also benefitted from the participation of the policymakers, academia, and business representatives in the Design Jams, where policy prototypes are tested against real business use cases. By engaging in this process, IMDA and its partners work towards the development of data protection policies that are both effective and practical, helping businesses to innovate and grow while safeguarding consumer privacy and trust.

Our partnership with Meta has successfully completed 4 seasons of policy prototyping. Key learnings from these seasons were distilled and published as reports so that more businesses can benefit from the programme. The reports are:

1. People-centric Approaches to Notice, Consent and Disclosure (Q4 2019)
2. People-Centric Approaches to AI Explainability (May 2022)
3. AI Transparency & Explainability (Jul 2022)
4. Data Transparency and Consent in the Metaverse (Jun 2023)