KUALA LUMPUR — Potential laws seeking to compel social media platform providers to reveal user data are aimed at ensuring scammers, pedophiles, and bullies are held liable for their crimes, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi said this when asked about concerns raised regarding personal data invasion as a result of amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) 1998, which the ministry is expected to table in Parliament next month.
“We have no intention to protect scammers, pedophiles, and bullies. The idea here is that we’re bringing to Parliament a set of laws to deal with the surge of crimes migrating to social media.
“It’s a very real and present threat to Malaysia’s safety and security,” he said after attending the Tower Xchange Meetup Asia 2024 event at the Shangri-La Hotel here.
Fahmi highlighted that perpetrators of online crime use fake personas online to lure their victims.
“We must take a very strong position (against such crimes), including dealing with these perpetrators who often hide behind fake accounts (and) bringing them to court.”
He added that all members of the media and the public will be able to look through the amendment bill once it is tabled in the lower House.
Yesterday, Fahmi’s deputy Teo Nie Ching told the Dewan Rakyat that one of the items being proposed in the CMA amendments is a new section that will give more power to enforcement authorities.
She said the proposed section will allow a police officer, or any officer who is given such power, to compel anyone in control of a communications system to reveal their data according to specified methods.
“We believe that if this new section is passed by this Dewan Rakyat, we will have the power; police will have the power to ask platform providers to reveal data of their users’ accounts,” she said, adding that such measures could aid in police investigation processes.
Teo was responding to a supplementary question from PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden on how Putrajaya plans to control the spread of fake news by those using fake identities online.
The proposed section has since come under heat from certain quarters online, with some netizens questioning whether the amended law will be utilised to further suppress freedom of speech or increase online censorship by the government.
Others, however, said that the law could be useful in combating online crimes perpetrated by those abusing social media platforms to manipulate others. – November 26, 2024