KUALA LUMPUR: A proposed law to ensure online safety and tackle cyberbullying will include provisions for a kill switch, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said today.
"The new law will include a kill switch to boost digital security. It'll be tabled in the next parliamentary sitting in October."
Azalina also said the proposed law would place the onus on social media and online messaging providers to combat cybercrime, including scams, cyberbullying and pornography.
She added that the government was studying proposals to amend the Penal Code to classify and define cyberbullying offenses, and related amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, to ensure the provisions for cyberbullying crimes could be enforced.
To get feedback on online safety-related crimes, Universiti Sains Malaysia, in collaboration with the Prime Minister's Department's Legal Affairs Division and the Communications Ministry through the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), would conduct a study on online safety through a public opinion survey, she added.
This study, she said, would complement the government's efforts in drafting online safety laws.
She said the Legal Affairs Division, in collaboration with MCMC and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, would organise the International Legal Conference on Online Harms on Sept 5 and 6.
The conference, which will be attended by international advocates for social media accountability and transparency, such as Frances Haugen and Dr Taylor Owen, would discuss issues related to online threats, particularly with the rise of artificial intelligence.