World's 'first' Anti-Fake News Act comes into power as nation prepares for polls

The Anti-Fake News Act 2018 has been gazetted as law and could be enforced with immediate effect.

A check by Malaysiakini this evening found that the documents related to the controversial Act have been uploaded on the Federal Gazette website.

The bill had received the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's consent on April 9, whereas the date of commencement of the Act is April 11.

The Anti-Fake News Bill was passed in Parliament on April 2 and sent to the Senate for deliberation, several days before the Dewan Rakyat ended its last day of the 13th session.

Press freedom groups in Malaysia, as well as global watchdogs, had decried the bill as Putrajaya's move to crack down on freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

Among others, concerns were raised over a mandatory 'take down' order which could be enforced against any alleged perpetrator of fake news.

Caretaker minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said, who tabled the bill, however, denied the claims and insisted it was a necessary legislation to tackle the problem of fake news.

Law targetting individuals, organisations

Malaysia is the first country in the world to pass a law specifically targetting individuals and organisations for allegedly spreading fake news.

Germany has a similar law, passed last year and enforced on Jan 1, which empowers the authorities to demand social media sites to remove hate speech and fake news.

The Social Networks Law covers social networks and media sites with more than two million members, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. 

Sites that do not remove "obviously illegal" posts could face fines of up to 50 million euro (RM240 million). - Mkini