KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — The Dewan Negara today passed the Anti-Fake News Bill 2018 which represents a serious move by the government to check the dissemination of fake news brought on by the development of modern technology.
Dewan Negara president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran announced that the bill was passed by a majority voice vote after 17 senators spoke during the debate on it.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, who tabled the bill earlier today, said during the winding-up of the debate that the government’s move to introduce the law would not restrict freedom of speech as it was only aimed at checking the dissemination of fake news.
She said that despite the existence of several relevant laws, it had been difficult to effectively and swiftly control the dissemination of fake news until today due to the rapid and complex development of information technology.
“The laws often cited in this matter, such as the Penal Code, Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, had been enacted in the 1990s or earlier and are unable to address the complex nature of the offences in line with the advancement of current technology,” she said. Read more