Proper safeguards: Azalina running into young performers at the International Symposium on the Empowerment of the Children’s Commission in Kuala Lumpur. — GLENN GUAN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Amendments to the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (Act 792) must be made to deal with emerging challenges posed by technological changes, especially artificial intelligence (AI), says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said Act 729 will be reviewed as part of the government’s roadmap into 2025.
“We cannot deny that the laws pertaining to grooming (for example) in 2017 may not comply with the AI situation. We must take into account the challenges of grooming, which is being amplified because of AI.
“When you talk about grooming with AI, it talks to you. We hear stories that if you drop a question, it keeps coming back, so your technology is responding to the interests you searched on your browser. It is like a push notification,” she told a press conference yesterday after launching the International Symposium on the Empowerment of the Children’s Commission.
Azalina said that according to the police and the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), one of the biggest problems is images of children being sold on the so-called dark web, “which is also now available on the open Web”.
“Another challenge is payment,... now done with bitcoin.
“In some countries, it has been proven payments made with cryptocurrency and bitcoin cannot be traced to the person actually committing the offences,” she added.
Azalina said the government was mulling establishing an Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) at the state level to ensure more comprehensive monitoring.
Earlier in her speech, she said it was crucial to emphasise the vital role of children’s commissioners and similar oversight bodies in advocating for children’s rights globally.
“It is important to recognise that the role of the Children’s Commission is not confrontational – rather, it is intended to collaborate with and support all levels of society, including both public and private sectors and beyond.
“In the face of rapid technological advancements such as AI and the associated risks, the necessity for an independent and professional body dedicated solely to safeguarding children becomes increasingly apparent.
“Such an entity can transcend boundaries and focus solely on protecting the rights and well-being of children in an ever-evolving landscape,” she said.
The symposium was organised by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department, Unicef Malaysia, the Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia, and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC).The symposium, which started yesterday and ends today, features a platform for stakeholders from various sectors to discuss and share best practices in empowering children’s commissions.
