KUALA LUMPUR: The amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act have taken effect following its gazettement on Friday.
The Communications Ministry said the amendments, which took effect yesterday, were passed by the Dewan Rakyat last December, and aim to create a safer and more sustainable Internet ecosystem for users.
“This will provide better protection, particularly for children and families,” it said in a statement, Bernama reported.
On Dec 9, the Dewan Rakyat passed the Communications and Multimedia (Amendment) Bill through a bloc vote, with 59 MPs in favour, 40 against, one abstaining, and 122 absent.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil (pic), in winding up the debate on the Bill, emphasised that Section 233 was retained to prevent network misuse, particularly for commercial purposes such as selling pornographic and paedophilic content.
The amendment to Section 211 does not apply to the general public but specifically to licensed Content Applications Service Providers.
The penalties under this section have been revised to reflect current developments.
In addition, the amendments introduce stricter penalties, including a maximum prison sentence of five years, a fine of up to RM500,000, or both, for offences involving children under the age of 18.
Key changes in Section 211 include replacing the words “offensive content” with “indecent content, etc”, deleting the words “or other persons using a content application service” from Section 211(b)(1), and replacing the word “offensive” with “grossly offensive.”
Section 211(c) replaces the term “any person” with “content application service provider” and substitutes the words “fifty thousand” with “one million”.
The Communications Ministry said last year, online crime cases surged to 35,368, resulting in losses exceeding RM1.5bil.
It said this affirmed the timely implementation of these amendments.
The ministry also urged Malaysians to support the efforts and take necessary precautions to safeguard themselves and their families from online threats.
