Online safety law to empower users while upholding freedom of speech, says Azalina
The proposed Online Safety Act seeks to empower social media users while safeguarding freedom of expression, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
Speaking at the International Legal Conference on Online Harms 2024 on Thursday (Sept 5), the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) clarified that the legislation would not function as a regulatory tool.
Instead, it would place responsibility on online stakeholders, including platform providers, to ensure the safety and protection of their users.
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NewsTranscript
00:00One, two, three.
00:30This is a budget session.
00:37And we hope that after the budget, we will bring this new law.
00:44Secondly, I want to inform you that the Ministry of Communications has its own document.
00:51The CMA document.
00:54And the registration is under the document.
00:59This is more of a law that will become a law that we will bring to the parliament.
01:12The use will be used by regulators, MCMC and all agencies.
01:18That's the truth.
01:19It means that it is not a regulating law as it is under MCMC now.
01:28The problem that we are facing now is that whatever information we ask from the platform providers,
01:34they don't want to inform the government.
01:36Because this is their product still.
01:38Because they have to keep their marketing.
01:41So our document, the online humps, is what we do so that we want the consumer to have the ultimate power.
01:50That is very important.
01:52Secondly, I have discussed this in my speech.
01:56There must be a balance with the voice.
01:59We cannot have a system where people say that this will create democracy.
02:03The government will download all the information.
02:06Earlier, the expert said that the government cannot download a lot of information.
02:10If you want to download a lot of information, download it.
02:12If you download it in A, it will go up to B. If you download it in B, it will go out to C.
02:15You tell me, how do you control 30 million users?
02:18That is the problem.
02:19The government cannot download it. It is impossible.
02:23But then he said, many platform providers have a few things that they will not violate.
02:29One is, for example, when it comes to children's pornography, sexual offences,
02:35when it comes to children, there are certain guidelines that they will abide by the government.
02:40So that will also assist the government when it comes to children.
02:43That is why the ACTA that we are doing now, the act that we are doing,
02:46we are putting a lot of issues in.
02:48Not just the responsibility on the platform providers,
02:52but we want that the public is also participating to engage.
02:56I think that is basically what the presentation that is going to happen today and tomorrow,
03:00to explain how we have to shift the responsibility to the community.
03:04That is basically what we are trying to do.
03:06To allow the law to do that.
03:08People must be responsible.
03:10You mentioned that you are now in Phase 2, moving to Phase 3,
03:13which is stakeholder engagement.
03:15And then you also want to table it in October, less than a month from now.
03:17October sitting of Parliament. Do you think that timeline is feasible?
03:20And then the second question is, you mentioned this is not a regulating act.
03:24Could you elaborate a bit more on that, please?
03:27When I said October session, of course when October starts,
03:31definitely the budget will go first.
03:33So we will have maybe two weeks towards the end, December.
03:38But then, of course, the drafting is being drafted.
03:42We already drafted the bill.
03:44But we want to get more engagement.
03:46Then we have to get a policy decision by the government, which is the Cabinet decision.
03:50Then once we have that, when the bill is ready,
03:53then we will engage on all the MPs to get their response.
03:56Because, you know, when it goes to Parliament,
03:58there are various standards the MPs can take.
04:02They may refer to the Select Committee,
04:04they may discuss with us before we do the second reading.
04:07Those are various processes and procedures that are available out there.
04:12Now, the reason that I mentioned to you is that this is not a regulating bill.
04:17The regulators are MCMC.
04:19This new law is not about regulating.
04:22This new law is about duty, what is expected of you.
04:25Exposing a duty on the social media platform?
04:28No, on everyone, even the users.
04:30That's what I think the Speaker has mentioned.
04:32That I think from all the countries that have done some laws,
04:35some of the countries are really looking at their Online Safety Act.
04:39Because there was a certain gap that they discovered.
04:42Like in the UK, they're looking it back.
04:44In Australia and Canada, they're evaluating.
04:47So it depends on the country.
04:49But as far as we are concerned,
04:50we want to take the best practices from all those countries
04:54that have considered that when they did this law a few years ago,
04:58where was their mistake, where was the lacuna?
05:00So we want to come out.
05:02We're bringing in all the international experts to guide us.
05:05But what I want to assure the public,
05:07we will not compromise on the freedom of expression.
05:11This is the position of the government of Madani today.
05:13We're not going to compromise.
05:15Means, if you have that constitutional right,
05:17you are protected, you have that freedom,
05:19you have the freedom to express yourself.
05:21But if you are expressing yourself,
05:23and your expression is causing harm,
05:26like a statement which is slander or libel,
05:30there are many laws will take you on that road.
05:33I cannot stop you from talking, right?
05:35But you have to be responsible for what you talk.
05:38If you say something to me that is slander and libel, defamatory,
05:41I can take action over you, civil or criminal.
05:44But I can't stop you from talking.
05:46So it's the same thing with social media.
05:48Now, for MCMC, they are regulators.
05:52They regulate providers, system providers.
05:56They cannot be regulating people's behavior, you understand?
05:59So that's why we have to come up with this new law.
06:02So MCMC regulate, then this is new law on online safety.
06:05So we are trying to separate that.
06:08Because we want to learn from other countries how they look at this.
06:11Now, from all the government out there, they keep telling us,
06:14the platform providers, they will definitely compromise with the government
06:19because they are selling a product.
06:20Takkan they want to close down,
06:22TikTok, close down, and then walk away?
06:24They will never do that because there's too much business here.
06:26You understand?
06:27So basically, this is a new bill.
06:29It's something totally new.