The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) plans to raise netizens' awareness on self-regulation during their online interactions, considering the increasing number of cases prosecuted.

Its chief officer for the network security, enforcement and advocacy sector, Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin, said 16 cases under Sections 211 and 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 were reported last year, an alarming increase from merely five cases during the 2013-2014 period.

"There are already two cases so far this year," he said.

Most of the cases involved posting offensive, obscene and/or pornographic contents on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, short message service, multimedia messaging, and blogging sites.

Moving forward, Zulkarnain said MCMC would also focus on the whole ecosystem of advocacy by educating the public on cyberspace misdemeanours.

“In this approach, MCMC will identify groups or institutions that could be a good influence to change public perception and on how to handle 'trolling' activities," he added.

Under the Act, if convicted, offenders could be fined up to RM50,000 or jailed up to one year or both.

Asked whether MCMC would be more firm in its enforcement, Zulkarnain said a stricter enforcement could only do so much as at the end of the day the public must learn to self-regulate to maintain peace and order in cyberspace.

He said in some cases, a fake account was created by irresponsible individuals to post offensive materials on social media to get the public riled up and close it when the issue turned viral.

“Section 233 of the Act will come into force when an Internet user consciously posts a comment or suggestion considered obscene and offensive to threaten and harass others," he added.

- Bernama