Fahmi: Malaysia's Online Safety Act to strengthen digital protections, enforcement expected soon
PUTRAJAYA, June 18 — The Online Safety Act 2024 is expected to be enforced soon after several key processes related to the legislation are finalised, according to Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi, who is also Madani Government spokesperson, said he is currently awaiting the draft of the Act from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which includes the regulations to be adopted.
'Once the draft is ready and I sign the gazette to enforce the Act, then it will come into effect,' he said at his weekly press conference today.
Fahmi said that a committee will also be set up by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, to oversee the implementation of the Act.
'This committee will have regulatory powers over the enforcement of the Act, such as defining what constitutes online harms,' he explained.
Prior to this, Azalina said that the new law would come into force once the Communications Minister signs the enforcement order, enabling the government to act swiftly to remove illegal content.
Under the Act, platform providers are also required to comply with specified duties of care.
Azalina noted that while the Online Safety Act focuses on platform regulation and digital responsibilities, any issues involving children must be addressed within the framework of the Child Act 2001.
In a related development, Fahmi said sign language interpreters will have increased involvement in key programmes to facilitate communication with persons with disabilities (PwD).
'Insya-Allah, I will strive to ensure that sign language interpreters are not only present during Communications Ministry press conferences but also in upcoming parliament sessions and other areas. We want to highlight the role of sign language interpreters,' he added. — Bernama
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