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StarHub faced similar accusation

Singapore’s second-largest telco StarHub faced a similar situation in 2010, when the owner of an online maternity retail shop accused it of placing ads on her website without prior consent.

Singapore’s second-largest telco StarHub faced a similar situation in 2010, when the owner of an online maternity retail shop accused it of placing ads on her website without prior consent.

But technology lawyers here say it is not entirely illegal in Singapore for telcos to place ads without permission.

The owner, who was a subscriber of the now-defunct StarHub service MaxOnline HubStation, had discovered ad banners advertising food and hygiene products on the top of her website.

She charged that the banner gave the impression that her site endorsed such products, which was not the case.

In response, StarHub said that the advertisement was inserted into a toolbar for the Web browser, and was not part of her website.

A spokesman elaborated in response to queries, that this was an ad for a free service: “The leaderboard toolbar is no longer available via StarHub HubStation. It was previously available only to customers on the free 1Mbps broadband service via HubStation, and was not an inherent part of any website.”

Regardless of positioning, technology lawyer Rob Bratby said any placing of ads by StarHub was likely not wholly prohibited. In addition, it would have also been covered under the terms and conditions, he said.

“It would depend on all the circumstances, but the Singapore Computer Misuse Act is not aimed at this type of activity, so my view is that this type of activity is not subject to a blanket ban in Singapore.”

He added that if the service is available with ads, but at a cheaper price, then it might be an effective way of serving customers who would otherwise not be able to receive service at all.

In Singapore, the nationwide Wireless@SG network is free, but ads are shown. Music service Spotify also has a free version, of which there are ads, and a premium version that users have to pay for. TAN WEIZHEN

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