KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 will go a long way in helping the police investigate online crime such as scams.
The amendments are to compel social media platforms to reveal the data of certain users like the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and origins of online calls or messages from those involved in crime such as scam syndicates, said Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.
“Such laws are timely given the ever-evolving online landscape.
“Law enforcement authorities have to be one or two steps ahead of criminals in the cyberworld. Everything is changing online on a daily basis. Thus, this kind of law will be handy for us,” he said.
Currently, social media platforms are not obligated to cooperate with the authorities, Comm Ramli said.
“Sometimes, they refuse to cooperate, citing internal policies or even internal regulations.
“Under the proposed amendments to be tabled in Parliament next month, police would be able to force social media platforms to disclose data on users,” he added.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 will have a new section on enhancing the powers of the police.
“This would allow the police or authorised officers to compel those controlling the communication system to disclose data in the prescribed manner,” she said.
Teo said it is extremely important to make platform providers such as Meta, ByteDance and Google to tighten their guidelines for users who want to open new accounts.
