Section 233 of CMA being reviewed, improved

Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1988 which gave the power to enforce the social media and internet aspects to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is being studied and improved to ensure its scope and usage are not abused.

In a statement today, MCMC said these are among the initiatives being carried out by the commission to ensure any element that could jeopardise social and national prosperity could be fully controlled and curtailed.

"In addition, the commission will further boost activities to educate the community through the advocacy programmes “Click Wisely” to foster the culture of using the internet in a positive and wise manner,” the statement said.

The MCMC said it was aware there was a section of the people who spread the agenda that could split inter-racial solidarity and jeopardise public peace, thus moving towards racial and religious polemics.

In this regard, the MCMC said the agency through collaboration with the police, in particular, would not compromise and would take firm action on anyone that threatened national security, stability and harmony through the abuse of the social media channels and the internet.

"A total of 47 investigation papers have been opened by the MCMC from the year 2018 until February this year with five of them having been sentenced. During the same period, a total of 2,358 processes of technical assistance and information identification to assist the investigation by enforcement agencies had been implemented by the MCMC.

"In addition, 3,407 fake social media accounts including those abused to spread messages that were extremist in nature, spreading messages of hate and slander as well as 1,163 contents with the same elements had been followed up with action to erase the contents with the collaboration of those handling international social media platforms,”the statement said.

During the same period, MCMC had assisted in spreading information to tackle 979 fake news that were viralled in the social media and internet through the initiative of the portal sebenarnya.my which it handled.

- Bernama