The Online Safety Bill 2024 will introduce three main responsibilities that social media platforms will need to adhere to. This is according to a Facebook post by deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching, who outlined the goal of the upcoming bill after the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department held a briefing on it.
According to Teo, the new law will mandate three key responsibilities for major platform operators such as Meta, X, and TikTok, namely ensuring safety on the platform, protecting kids under the age of 13, and restricting access to harmful content. The major concerns under the bill include cybercrimes such as online fraud, gambling, and sexual crimes against children.
Teo added that several members of parliament have given feedback on the bill, which she assured would be taken into account. On a similar note, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil stated that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had conducted engagement sessions over the past six months to gather input from stakeholders, including cybersecurity experts, technology developers, and computer engineers.
Moreover, Fahmi said that a Code of Conduct for social media platforms is expected to be ready by next month. As for the Online Safety Bill 2024, it is expected to be tabled this month during the ongoing parliamentary session. In September, de facto law minister Azalina Othman Said, who will be presenting the bill, assured the public that it will not restrict freedom of expression.
(Sources: Teo Nie Ching, Fahmi Fadzil)
