Last year, Malaysia introduced a new law to curb the spread of fake news. Though the country eventually repealed the law, it triggered discussions in many nations. Now, Russia is reportedly trying to pass an anti-fake news bill that some claim will hurt human rights and political activists.
Malaysia’s fake news law
In early 2018, Malaysia’s lower house of parliament passed a bill that sought to outlaw fake news. The legislation was supposed to target “any news, information, data, and reports which are wholly or partly false, whether in the form of features, visuals, or audio recordings or in any other form capable of suggesting words or ideas,” according to The New York Times.
The law would punish not only those who create fake news but also those who spread it, with a jail term of up to six years and fines of up to US$122,000. All online publishers were subject to the law, with citizens having the freedom to file complaints. Even fake news published outside the country was at risk of prosecution.
However, the government was vague in defining what constitutes “fake news.” This raised suspicions that the law would eventually be used against political dissidents and rights activists. The fact that the law was introduced by previous Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was involved in a corruption scandal, only strengthened the protest against the bill.
Former Prime Minister Najib Razak signed the anti-fake news law. (Image: World Economic Forum via Flickr)
When Mahathir Mohamad ran for elections against Razak, he was reportedly harassed under the anti-fake news law. He claimed that the Malaysian administration sabotaged his plane to prevent him from registering as a prime ministerial candidate. As a result, one of Mahathir’s major poll promises was removing the law. After getting elected into office in May, Mahathir successfully got the parliament to strike down the anti-fake news law in August.
“This is a law that was clearly designed to silence criticism of the authorities and to quell public debate — it should never have been allowed to pass in the first place,” Teddy Brawner Baguilat, Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said to The Guardian.
Russia’s law against fake news
When the Malaysian government eventually repealed the anti-fake news law, it was a lesson for the international community. The high possibility of the government misusing such a law against people of differing opinions made many nervous.
All online publishers were subject to the law, and citizens had the freedom to file complaints. Even fake news published outside the country was at risk of prosecution. (Image: USA-Reiseblogger via Pixabay)
However, Russia seems to be discounting such negatives. Recently, the country’s lower house passed the first reading of a bill to prevent news outlets and citizens from publishing or spreading fake news and content that might “disrespect” the government.
“The awareness of the negative aspects of spreading false information makes government institutions in many countries look for ways of preventing them. The European Commission is working on a common European strategy of resisting on-line disinformation… [The proposed amendments to Russian legislation] reaffirm legal guarantees against the abuse of the freedom of speech, which may pose a threat to state and public security,” according to the document (TASS).
The wording of the proposed law is problematic. Passing such legislation will give the Russian government the right to arrest and prosecute people under the pretext of “social stability.” Given that the country’s administration is already against freedom of speech, the new anti-fake news law will only worsen the human rights situation in Russia.
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