227 cases of new media abuse probed

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 227 cases involving misuse of new media, including social media, websites and blogs, were investigated from January last year to July this year.

Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Jailani Johari said, out of the total, 19 cases were compounded and eight were prosecuted and convicted.

"This year alone, action was taken against 75 per cent out of the 2,000 fake accounts, including blocking and closing the accounts while the rest are still under investigation.

“For the closure of fake accounts, it has to be reported to the social media service providers that are mostly abroad such as Facebook and Twitter based on violations of the terms and conditions set by them,” he told the Dewan Negara sitting here yesterday.

He was replying to a question from Senator Datuk Zali Mat Yasin, who wanted to know the number and statistics on individuals or groups who had been subjected to legal action for social media offences.

Jailani said the sebenarnya. my portal, which was launched on March 14 to address the spread of fake news had received 9.29 million hits with an estimated 1.845 million hits per month.

“Since it was launched until July, the portal has received over 600 feedbacks from an average of five daily,” he said.

At the same time, he said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had provided a monthly analysis on the public's response and would prepare a detailed report on a study relating to the portal's effectiveness after it is in operation for a year.

Replying to a supplementary question on whether the government planned to increase the fine and imprisonment penalty for social media offenders, he said a comprehensive review was being carried out on the provisions under the existing law. - Bernama