Online Safety Bill to address cyberbullying and harmful content
PETALING JAYA: The Online Safety Bill that is slated to be tabled by the end of the current Dewan Rakyat meeting is expected to cover at least six areas, including financial scams and harmful content.
When the Bill is passed, authorities will have more enforcement power in areas which are currently difficult to regulate.
It is believed that the Bill is likely to cover abusive and sexual content, online financial scams, bullying, anything that can incite violence or terrorism, and induce self-harm among children.
Commenting on the upcoming Bill, cybersecurity specialist Fong Choong Fook said regardless of whether a law is in place, education is the most important factor when ensuring safety in the online space.
“We need to start from basics by reviewing our education system from primary to secondary schools.
“We should be teaching our younger generation how to observe threats online and how to react to threats,” he said.
“As guardians and parents, we need to take full responsibility for how we allow our children access to the Internet. A lot of parents are allowing their children to use computer devices without any restrictions.
“Unfortunately, many parents have turned the tablet computer into a nanny for their children. That is dangerous,” he said.
The Online Safety Advocacy Group, meanwhile, said in a statement recently that it had submitted a memorandum to the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU) on its feedback, concerns and recommendations on the proposed law.
After attending briefings with the Law Minister’s office and the BHEUU, the group said they are alarmed by some of the proposed solutions although they were heartened with the government’s commitment to address the issue.
“The occurrence of cyberbullying and the proliferation of child sexual abuse material must be prevented and addressed swiftly whenever it occurs.
“To achieve this, some new laws may need to be created, and some existing laws may need to be improved to ensure non-arbitrary application and effective redress,” said the group of civil societies and activists.
The group said the government’s intention to include anti-cyberbullying offences in the Penal Code would lead to a duplication of offences, an example being the existing offences of criminal intimidation.
However, they said any multiplication of laws for the same or similar offence; conflating liabilities of children with those of adults in offences involving online harms; as well as the revival of obsolete laws that attempt to regulate social media platforms through licensing mechanisms must be avoided.
Therefore, they are proposing a clear distinction between adults and children regarding liabilities, safeguards, repercussions and enforcement measures; a clear definition of harm; and ensuring penalties are proportionate to the offence.
“Content related to online financial scams should be dealt with separately and not be included in the Online Safety Bill, as it intersects with cybercrime and cybersecurity, which involve different regulatory authorities and require greater involvement with law enforcement in physical and digital spaces.
“The recent amendments to the Penal Code’s Sections 424A, 424B, 424C and 424D on online financial scams already address similar offences,” they said.
“We propose that online service providers should only be required to remove or make inaccessible two critical categories of ‘harmful content’: child sexual abuse material and non-consensual dissemination of intimate images (including sexualised deepfakes),” the group said.
“We advocate for the Bill to adopt the approach of ‘safety by design’, where the focus is on prevention by anticipating, detecting and eliminating online harm before it occurs.
“It should also include making available a child-friendly reporting mechanism, including a single unified hotline, taking into account age, gender, language and disability among others, so that children at risk know where to report and do so without fear,” the group added.
The group also called for an independent, multi-stakeholder commission with the necessary technical capacity to be established and granted the autonomy and power to oversee and enforce the Act.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said on Monday that the Bill would be tabled soon.
Another Bill that is expected before the Dewan Rakyat concludes its meeting on Dec 12 is amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act.
