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For example, in March 2018, then-Prime Minister Najib Razak and his ruling Barisan Nasional government introduced a controversial Anti-Fake News Bill, which provides for fines of up to RM500,000 and jail terms of up to six years for any content the government defines as “fake news”.
The move was condemned by the opposition, including Fahmi’s Pakatan Harapan party, and political activists who feared it would be used to silence voices that Barisan Nasional disagreed with.
The opposition made repealing the law a key campaign promise for the May election that year, and the new government repealed the law in August 2018 after its unexpected victory.
“I have been against stricter regulation in the past,” Fahmi told CNA on Monday.
“As a reformer, as someone who was fighting against the status quo back then, I am very aware of how what we do today will impact free speech tomorrow and beyond.”
But Mr. Fahmi said TikTok star commits suicide He said the incident had made the government reconsider its relationship with Internet service providers and users.
Meanwhile, Anwar assured on Tuesday that the licensing system would not restrict freedom of expression in Malaysia but would tackle online crime and the spread of harmful information.
“This country is a democracy and the people must be given the freedom to express their views, whether they agree, criticise or disagree,” he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
“When we say we have to block (such posts), we are limiting freedom. Is it the freedom to cheat? Is it the freedom to steal and cause someone to commit suicide?”
So what about those who support the move?
Dr Noor Nirwandi Mat Nordin, a security and political analyst at Universiti Teknologi MARA’s Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, told Bernama that a “well-timed” move was needed to balance the social media landscape, especially in civil and criminal cases and cybercrime.
“It is also critical to ensure controls over emerging elements such as artificial intelligence (AI), and of greater concern is the generation of content that could generate misleading information or be used for malicious purposes,” he said.
Dave Avran, founder of the Malaysian group Against Rape, Assault and Snatch Theft, told The Star that the move was a good one for the country.
“Cybercrimes such as cyberbullying should be dealt with decisively to prevent more people from becoming victims,” he said, calling for more comprehensive regulation of social media and internet use.
Mr Fahmy made a working visit to Singapore after the licensing regime was announced and met with the social media platforms.
He said in a Facebook post on Monday that he also discussed with Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo the country’s experience in regulating social media and the challenges it faces.
“It is not too late for us to ensure that social media platforms are held accountable for criminal activity that occurs on their platforms,” he wrote.
How do other countries regulate social media platforms?
Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) allows the government to compel social media platforms to issue corrections or stop publishing information it deems to be false.
It could also use the Cybercrime Act to issue a code of conduct requiring social media platforms to implement systems, processes or measures to combat crimes such as online fraud.
If, despite the code of conduct, there is a persistent risk of scams on the platform, the government can issue implementing directives to the platform to reduce this risk.
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