Kuala Lumpur: The amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 [Act 588] take effect today following their gazettement on February 7. In a statement today, the Ministry of Communications announced that the amendments, passed by the Dewan Rakyat last December, are intended to foster a safer and more sustainable Internet ecosystem for users.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the amendments are aimed at providing better protection, especially for children and families. The Dewan Rakyat passed the Communications and Multimedia (Amendment) Bill 2024 on December 9 through a bloc vote, with 59 Members of Parliament in favor, 40 against, one abstaining, and 122 absent. Minister of Communications Fahmi Fadzil, in his closing remarks during the Bill's debate, stressed the importance of retaining Section 233 of Act 588 to prevent network misuse, particularly for commercial activities like the sale of pornographic and paedophilic content.
The amendment to Section 211 specifically targets licenced Content Applications Service Providers (CASP) and does not apply to the general public. The penalties under this section have been updated to align with current developments. The changes introduce stricter penalties, including a maximum prison sentence of five years, a fine of up to RM500,000, or both, for offences involving children under the age of 18.
Significant changes in Section 211 involve replacing "offensive content" with "indecent content, etc.", removing the phrase "or other persons using a content application service" from Section 211(b)(1), and changing the term "offensive" to "grossly offensive." Additionally, Section 211(c) replaces "any person" with "content application service provider" and changes the fine from "fifty thousand" to "one million."
The Communications Ministry highlighted that online crime cases surged to 35,368 last year, leading to losses surpassing RM1.5 billion. This underscores the timely implementation of these amendments. The ministry called on Malaysians to support these measures and take necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families from online threats.