Groups: Bill may stifle media industry further

PETALING JAYA: The Anti-Fake News Bill 2018 may stifle the media industry even further, say media groups.

Calling for the Bill to be withdrawn or redrafted at the very least, the Wan-Ifra Media Freedom Committee Malaysia and Institute of Journalists Malaysia (IoJM) asked for engagement with all stakeholders in the media industry “so that the freedom of the press in Malaysia can continue to be preserved.”

“While the dissemination of fake news is a matter of concern to everyone, we believe that provisions in both the Communications and Multimedia Act and Sedition Act already lets the Government deal with the perpetrators of fake news,” the groups said in a joint statement yesterday.

Wan-Ifra MFC Malaysia and IoJM said in the weeks leading to the Bill being tabled, the Government had a series of sessions and discussions with stakeholders such as social media platforms and companies but excluded the media industry.

They stressed that the Bill also provides for a far heavier punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment compared to the Sedition Act’s three years.

“Provisions in this Bill allow the Government to apply to have an article removed via the courts, following which the affected party would not be able to set aside the order if national security is cited,” the statement added.

The groups also raised concerns if organisations would be compelled to compromise their sources should an article quoting a confidential source be subsequently contested as ‘fake news’.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) also urged the Parliament not to pass the Bill.

ICJ senior international legal adviser Emerlynne Gil said the term “fake news” was in itself problematic.

“It is defined in an overbroad manner in the draft law, and therefore vulnerable to arbitrary interpretation and enforcement,” she said.

Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said allowing the Bill to be passed would only serve as an affront to democratic values.