Police welcome proposal to compel social media firms to reveal user data

Proposed amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 will help the police investigate cyber crimes, said Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.

The suggested amendments will compel social media platforms to reveal data about users upon police request, as cooperation with authorities is not a legal obligation, he said.

“Such laws are timely given the ever-evolving online landscape.

“Law enforcement authorities have to be one or two steps ahead of criminals in the cyber world. Everything is changing online on a daily basis. Thus, this kind of law will be handy for us,” he told The Star.

At the moment, social media platforms can refuse to cooperate with the police, due to companies' internal policies, he added.

“Under the proposed amendments to be tabled in Parliament next month, police would be able to force social media platforms to disclose data on users,” he said.

Combating fake news

On Monday (Nov 25), Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching told the Dewan Rakyat that the ministry plans to table a bill to amend the Communications and Multimedia Act in December.

As part of the government’s measure to combat fake news, social media platforms also have to be stricter when registering new users, she said.

An example she gave is the mandatory request for a phone number during the account registration process.

The Kulai MP was responding to a supplementary question from Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden on how the government plans to control the spread of fake news by those using bogus social media accounts.

Starting Jan 1 next year, all social media platforms with more than eight million users must apply for a Class Licence for Application Service Providers under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

The Communications Ministry said the measure was to hold social media companies accountable for harmful content on their platforms including child sexual abuse material, online scams, and cyberbullying.

However, critics have said the move is regressive and is an attempt by the government to stifle freedom of expression online.

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