Give us more info on ‘fake news’ task force, say rights groups

 

Rights groups have expressed concern about the task force, stating that the government ‘cannot be the arbiter of what is false information’.

PETALING JAYA: Rights groups have called on the government to provide more transparency about a recently announced task force meant to remove fake news on social media during the general election period.

On Thursday, communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa said a task force of more than 100 personnel from the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) would immediately remove “fake news” on social media without having to wait for a report.

Annuar said that it was “not really suitable” to wait for reports and then investigate reports of fake news on social media during the current election season as candidates can be victims of “very damaging” reports.

Article 19, a rights group which focuses on freedom of expression, said that despite the threat posed by misinformation or disinformation, any restrictions on the dissemination of supposedly false information must comply with the requirements of “legality, legitimacy, necessity and proportionality”.

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“Transparency about this task force is also sorely lacking,” said Article 19 senior Malaysia programme officer Nalini Elumalai.

“We need more information about this task force, their roles, functions and how they plan to collaborate with social media companies to stop spreading misinformation and disinformation.”

Gayathry S Venkiteswaran, an assistant professor who teaches communications at Nottingham University Malaysia, also expressed concern about the task force, stating that the government “cannot be the arbiter of what is false information”.

Noting that global standards call for self-regulation and a multi-stakeholder approach to address problematic content, she said it was “worrying” that the government has opted for a state mechanism in the name of moderating content.

Gayathry also said that without a “clear and narrow definition” of fake news, the task force’s actions can be an overreach, adding that there would also be no oversight and accountability for the decisions taken.

“We know from the past that content that challenges or is critical of the establishment could also be defined as false,” she said.

“This will have an impact on legitimate expression.”

In a statement, Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) executive director Wathshlah G Naidu urged Annuar to urgently provide clarification as to the definition and scope of “fake news” as adopted by the task force.

Wathshlah also asked Annuar to provide a guarantee that the task force will be impartial and not be misused as a “tool to further political agenda”.

“What measures are in place to guarantee that this would not lead to further surveillance, invasion of privacy, censorship, attacks on media freedom, and disproportionate crackdowns on legitimate speech?

“The arbitrary and unchecked use of the task force will go against the fundamental norms of freedom of expression and speech as enshrined in our Federal Constitution and international standards.” - FMT