SHAH ALAM, Oct 23 — The Online Safety Bill, which the government will table in the Dewan Rakyat soon, aims to curb criminal activities on social media, rather than restricting freedom of expression.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil explained that it will also ensure social media platform operators are more proactive in curbing criminal activities on their respective platforms to avoid facing action.
"Our right to speak is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, which is the highest law in the country, so any law related to the issue of freedom of speech cannot go beyond the constitution.
"Our main intention in introducing the bill is not to curb the voice of the people, but to curb the behaviour of criminals who are manipulating and taking advantage to commit crimes, especially on social media,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after delivering a lecture at the Ministerial Lecture Series Programme entitled "Digital Security Literacy" organised by the Communication and Media Studies Faculty (FKPM), Universiti Teknologi Mara Shah Alam, here, today.
Fahmi said while there are efforts to guarantee cheaper internet services, and wider and faster coverage, the introduction of the bill is also important in ensuring safe use, especially for children and family members.
He said while the Madani government is resolute in upholding the people’s right to free speech, it cannot allow criminals to exploit this right to harm the nation’s heritage or perpetuate criminal activities on social media platforms.
Fahmi said the government is seriously addressing four major criminal activities — scams, online gambling, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes against children.
He highlighted how these activities are increasingly being conducted on social media platforms, which criminals are using as a means to carry out these illegal actions.
"For the past year, the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department said Malaysians have lost RM432 million due to scams on Facebook alone... it is the biggest and most misused platform by criminals for scam activities.
"But Facebook is very weak and slow in taking any preventive action, and they seem to be waiting for complaints from the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) or public.”
Fahmi said the government also took several other actions including amending the Penal Code to redefine the definition of 'Mule Account’, which is often used by scammers to channel stolen money, defining the crime of bullying and cyber bullying, as well as amending the Communications and Multimedia Act.
"One of the reasons why the government took such steps and plans to table the Online Safety Bill in the near future is to ensure online safety issues can be addressed more comprehensively.”
— Bernama
