THE Communications and Multimedia (Amendment) Bill 2024 (CMA) has been tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat and it appears that the federal government will seek to ensure that august house passes it before the year is out.

The Bill, has, unsurprisingly, caused major controversy among the digital industry and media practitioners. It has been alleged that the Bill will lead to internet censorship and increased repression.

This is on top of other controversial measures like the requirement for certain social media and instant messaging providers to obtain licences by January 2025, as well as proposed amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984.

Let me preface my grouses by saying that no one who points out the problems and dangers amending the CMA could give rise to is in any way supporting the ills it purports to correct.

It does not follow that people who are against amending the CMA are somehow in support of online scams, cyber-bulling, disinformation/fake news, incitement/hate speech and the sexual grooming of children or the vulnerable.

Rather, there is such a thing as overkill, of well-intentioned legislation giving rise to new problems without addressing or even exacerbating those it seeks to address.

The proposed CMA amendments arguably and unfortunately fall into this category. As has been stated elsewhere, how it defines “grossly offensive” content remains highly subjective (Section 80b, which seeks to amend Section 211 of the principal act).

Also, there is a concern that Section 112 of the amendments, which seeks to amend Section 252 of the principal act will allow the police or an “authorised officer” to essentially compel social media providers to deliver up user data, which could prove harmful to the privacy and civil liberties of Malaysians.

These are just two of the most egregious concerns with the amendments. There are simply no hard or reliable guarantees in the amendments or the principal act as it stands to prevent the executive from using the powers the former will give them in an arbitrary manner, or for partisan purposes.

I must also stress that no one is suggesting that the current federal government is acting in bad faith or has dishonourable intentions with regards to the amendments.

But it is contended that no government, no matter how noble, should be allowed to have these powers – especially when Malaysia via the Multimedia Super Corridor’s Bill of Guarantees pledged that there would be no censorship of the internet in Malaysia.

One also humbly submits that the lack of censorship also means ensuring users are insulated from any fear or risk of retaliation for their content and in that sense, the CMA amendments is lacking. There must be freedom both of speech and after speech.

It will also strangle in the cradle Malaysia’s burgeoning attempts to become a digital economic powerhouse as investors flee to countries and regions with a healthier respect for freedom and privacy.

The CMA amendments should hence, at the very least, be withdrawn for further public consultation and scrutiny by a Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC).

Of course, the problem of how to address online scams, disinformation and sexual misconduct will remain.

But one would also argue that these problems fundamentally stem from social-economic pathologies within our societies: not solely from a lack of digital, civic and media literacy, but rather from polarisation, a lack of effective social protection for the elderly and vulnerable and a breakdown of trust between leaders and the led.

These problems cannot be solved via controlling technology (which is fundamentally mutable and will inevitably, drastically evolve) any more than virtue can be legislated into existence.

What is needed is for fundamental as well as inclusive socio-economic change that preserves both the core of Malaysia’s identity as well as its nascent freedoms. This can be done if there is the political will to do so.

In fact, this is likely what the political project of the Madani coalition is, in not so many words. But the CMA amendments will render their difficult balancing act to naught.

I will, however, also admit that the Madani coalition is in an unenviable position in this question. It will court unpopularity both if it does nothing and also if it carries on with its current course.

Australia’s recent clampdown on social media for under-16s and Singapore’s proposal to ban the use of deepfakes in elections also highlights how tempting it is to likewise seek to control the internet when one’s peers seem to be moving that way.

But this is one case where Malaysia can and ought to swim against the tide.

When it comes to freedom of expression and privacy, which are so essential to liberty, our country must avoid engaging in a race to the bottom which is what the CMA amendments will set us down on.

Let us rather seek to seize the mantle of freedom and become a beacon of hope for Asia and the world as Malaysia assumes the Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025.

Will the government listen and postpone the destructive CMA amendments? We wait in hope! – Dec 9, 2024

Salahuddin Mohd Shukri
Balik Pulau

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.

https://focusmalaysia.my/cma-amendments-well-intentioned-but-misguided/