THE Anti-Fake News Bill 2018 that Putrajaya has tabled today proposes a fine of up to RM500,000 or 10-year jail term for those found guilty of spreading false news.
The bill also defines “fake news” as “any news, information, data and reports, which is or wholly or partly false, whether in the form of features, visuals or audio recordings or in any other form capable of suggesting words or ideas”.
Publications that reproduce “fake news” will also be charged up to RM100,000 for the offence and a further RM300,000 for every day the offence continues.
The bill defines publication as “any written publication or publication of similar nature… or substantial reproduction of such publication.”
The bill also gave several explicit examples of instances where fake news is produced, including reproductions of unverified allegations from blog posts.
MEANWHILE, according to The Star:
KUALA LUMPUR: The much anticipated Anti-Fake News Bill 2018 was tabled at the Dewan Rakyat for its first reading on Monday (March 26).
The Bill seeks to provide for certain offences and measures to curb the dissemination of fake news or related matters.
“As technology advances with time, the dissemination of fake news becomes a global concern and more serious in that it affects the public,” reads the Bill, which was tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Bill also purportedly seeks to safeguard the public against the spread of fake news whilst ensuring the right to freedom of speech and expression under the Federal Constitution is respected.
There are also provisions, proposed in the Bill, on the power of the Court to make an order to remove content on any publication medium, in particular social media platforms.
“With the proposed Act, it is hoped that the public will be more responsible and cautious in sharing news and information,” it reads.
Once the Bill is passed, anyone found “knowingly creating, offering, publishing, printing, distributing, circulating or disseminating” any fake news or publication containing it is liable to a fine up to RM500,000 or imprisonment up to 10 years or both.
In the case of a continuing offence, a person is liable to a further fine of up to RM3,000 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
In addition to the punishment, the Court may also order for an apology, such as in open court or by publishing it in newspapers, for example.
Anyone who is found to provide financial assistance for the purposes of committing or facilitating the offence is also liable to a fine up to RM500,000 or imprisonment up to 10 years or both.
The Bill also states that any person who fails to remove publications containing fake news is also liable to a fine up to RM100,000 and in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine up to RM3,000 daily during which the offence continues after conviction.
ACCORDING to Malaysiakini:
TOOL OF OPPRESSION
Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan has decried the Anti-Fake News Bill as another tool of oppression.
Gan, who co-founded Malaysiakini with chief executive officer Premesh Chandran, recalled the words of George Orwell in his dystopian novel ‘1984’.
“George Orwell wrote, ‘Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four.’ Today, Malaysians are on the brink losing that freedom.
“Malaysia has already a litany of laws which have been used – and abused – to combat fake news. This new law is more than just another layer of control by the government; it is a death blow to the sliver of democracy that we have.
“Fake news is now whatever the government says it is. Two plus two do not make four, if the government says so. This Anti-Fake News Bill is plunging the country into an Orwellian nightmare,” he added.
https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/45093/
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/03/26/anti-fake-news-bill-tabled-in-dewan-rakyat/
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/417125
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