SHAH ALAM, Oct 23 (Bernama) — The Online Safety Bill which the government will table in the Dewan Rakyat soon aims to curb criminal activities on social media, rather than restricting freedom of expression.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil explained that it will also ensure social media platform operators are more proactive in curbing criminal activities on their respective platforms to avoid facing action.
“Our right to speak is enshrined in the Federal Constitution, which is the highest law in the country, so any law related to the issue of freedom of speech cannot go beyond the Constitution.
“Our main intention in introducing the bill is not to curb the voice of the people, but to curb the behaviour of criminals who are manipulating and taking advantage especially on social media to commit crimes,” he said.
He told a press conference after delivering a lecture at the Ministerial Lecture Series Programme entitled “Digital Security Literacy” organised by the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (FKPM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, here, today.