Friday, February 26, 2021
  • Setup menu at Appearance » Menus and assign menu to Top Bar Navigation
Advertisement
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News
No Result
View All Result
NikolaNews
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News
No Result
View All Result
NikolaNews
No Result
View All Result
Home Internet Security

Singapore, Malaysia clamp down on online falsehoods about coronavirus

February 2, 2020
in Internet Security
Singapore, Malaysia clamp down on online falsehoods about coronavirus
585
SHARES
3.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Both Singapore and Malaysia have moved to clamp down on inaccurate online reports about the coronavirus, with the latter making several arrests of individuals for posting and sharing such content. Singapore also vows to take “swift action” against the spread of such reports.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on Wednesday said it, alongside the Royal Malaysia Police, had conducted four separate raids that resulted in the arrest of four individuals suspected of posting and distributing false reports about the outbreak, which had affected several nations in the region.

You might also like

This chart shows the connections between cybercrime groups

Spy agency: Artificial intelligence is already a vital part of our missions

Chinese cyberspies targeted Tibetans with a malicious Firefox add-on

Three of the detainees allegedly uploaded inaccurate information on Facebook, while the fourth had shared such content on Twitter. 



Singapore must look beyond online falsehood laws as elections loom

Country’s government is missing the point with its use of correction directives, when it should be looking more closely at how the legislation can be used to address bigger security threats as it prepares for its first elections since the emergence of technology, such as deepfake, and increased online interference.

Read More

MCMC added that smartphones, SIM cards, and memory cards believed to have been used to upload the content were confiscated during the raids.

Detained under Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act, Section 233, for sharing offensive and menacing content, the four individuals — if found guilty — would face fines of up to RM50,000 ($12,247) or imprisonment of up to a year, or both. They also would be fined an additional RM1,000 ($245) for each day the alleged falsehood remained online after their conviction. 

The arrests had followed another on Tuesday when an individual in Selangor was detained for allegedly posting falsehoods about the virus on Facebook. 

The MCMC said it would continue to step up enforcement efforts, alongside the police, to “control the spreading of false news”.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s southern neighbour evoked its Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) twice this week over false statements made about the coronavirus. 

Singapore’s Minister for Health on Monday instructed the POFMA Office to issue a General Correction Direction to SPH Magazines, which operates the HardwareZone forum, over a post on the forum that falsely claimed a man had died in Singapore from the virus. 

A General Correction Direction can be issued to internet intermediaries, telecom and broadcast licensees, and permit holders of the country’s Newspaper Printing Presses Act, requiring them to publish, broadcast, or transmit a correction notice to their users in Singapore. 

Under the directive, HardwareZone will be required to carry a correction notice to anyone in Singapore who accessed its online forum. 

A day later on Tuesday, the Minister for Transport instructed the POFMA Office to issue a Targeted Correction Direction to Facebook over falsehoods made by two users of the social media site, who falsely stated Woodlands MRT station was closed for disinfection due to a suspected case of the coronavirus. Such directives can be issued to internet intermediaries whose services are used to communicate falsehoods that affected public interest. They require these sites to communicate correction notices, by means of its service, to all users in Singapore who accessed the falsehood through its service. 

In this instance, Facebook had to carry a correction notice on the two posts that contained the falsehood, according to the POFMA Office. 

Commenting on the POFMA directive involving HardwareZone, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran noted that more than 4,600 unique visitors had read the false report before it was taken down. “We must take swift action against such falsehoods [or] there is a grave risk they will spread and cause panic among our citizens,” Iswaran said. 

“And that is why we have POFMA and we will not hesitate to use the powers under the law to take action against any party that spreads such falsehoods.”

He added that the objective was to ensure Singaporeans are provided with the facts to enable them to safely browse online platforms and distinguish truth from falsehoods.

The Singapore government last week ordered for local access to a website, operated by Malaysia-based Lawyers for Liberty, to be blocked for failing to comply with a correction directive issued under the POFMA. In response, the human rights group did not comply with the correction notice order and, instead, filed a motion in Kuala Lumpur’s High Court against Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam. The lawsuit claimed the Singapore government was attempting to “encroach upon” freedom of speech in Malaysia.

Under the POFMA, offenders could face up to three or five years’ imprisonment, a SG$30,000 or SG$50,000 fine, or both. If bots or inauthentic accounts were used to amplify falsehoods, the potential penalties that could be applied would be doubled. Offending internet intermediaries, meanwhile, could face up to SG$1 million in fines, and also would receive a daily SG$100,000 fine for each day they continued to breach the Act after conviction.

RELATED COVERAGE

Credit: Zdnet

Previous Post

New machine learning algorithm produces "near-perfect" fake human faces / Boing Boing

Next Post

The ML Times Is Growing – A Letter from the New Editor in Chief - Machine Learning Times

Related Posts

This chart shows the connections between cybercrime groups
Internet Security

This chart shows the connections between cybercrime groups

February 26, 2021
Spy agency: Artificial intelligence is already a vital part of our missions
Internet Security

Spy agency: Artificial intelligence is already a vital part of our missions

February 26, 2021
Chinese cyberspies targeted Tibetans with a malicious Firefox add-on
Internet Security

Chinese cyberspies targeted Tibetans with a malicious Firefox add-on

February 26, 2021
SolarWinds cybersecurity spending tops $3 million in Q4, sees $20 million to $25 million in 2021
Internet Security

SolarWinds cybersecurity spending tops $3 million in Q4, sees $20 million to $25 million in 2021

February 26, 2021
Facebook bans Myanmar military-controlled accounts from its platforms
Internet Security

Facebook bans Myanmar military-controlled accounts from its platforms

February 25, 2021
Next Post
The ML Times Is Growing – A Letter from the New Editor in Chief – Machine Learning Times

The ML Times Is Growing – A Letter from the New Editor in Chief - Machine Learning Times

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Plasticity in Deep Learning: Dynamic Adaptations for AI Self-Driving Cars

Plasticity in Deep Learning: Dynamic Adaptations for AI Self-Driving Cars

January 6, 2019
Microsoft, Google Use Artificial Intelligence to Fight Hackers

Microsoft, Google Use Artificial Intelligence to Fight Hackers

January 6, 2019

Categories

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data
  • Blockchain
  • Crypto News
  • Data Science
  • Digital Marketing
  • Internet Privacy
  • Internet Security
  • Learn to Code
  • Machine Learning
  • Marketing Technology
  • Neural Networks
  • Technology Companies

Don't miss it

Machine Learning & Big Data Analytics Education Market: Soaring Demand Assures Motivated Revenue Share During 2020-2030 – KSU
Machine Learning

Machine Learning & Big Data Analytics Education Market: Soaring Demand Assures Motivated Revenue Share During 2020-2030 – KSU

February 26, 2021
This chart shows the connections between cybercrime groups
Internet Security

This chart shows the connections between cybercrime groups

February 26, 2021
Basic laws of physics spruce up machine learning
Machine Learning

New machine learning tool facilitates analysis of health information, clinical forecasting

February 26, 2021
Creative Destruction and Godlike Technology in the 21st Century | by Madhav Kunal
Neural Networks

Creative Destruction and Godlike Technology in the 21st Century | by Madhav Kunal

February 26, 2021
Spy agency: Artificial intelligence is already a vital part of our missions
Internet Security

Spy agency: Artificial intelligence is already a vital part of our missions

February 26, 2021
Blockchain lags behind other technologies in finance adoption for now, says Broadridge
Blockchain

Blockchain lags behind other technologies in finance adoption for now, says Broadridge

February 26, 2021
NikolaNews

NikolaNews.com is an online News Portal which aims to share news about blockchain, AI, Big Data, and Data Privacy and more!

What’s New Here?

  • Machine Learning & Big Data Analytics Education Market: Soaring Demand Assures Motivated Revenue Share During 2020-2030 – KSU February 26, 2021
  • This chart shows the connections between cybercrime groups February 26, 2021
  • New machine learning tool facilitates analysis of health information, clinical forecasting February 26, 2021
  • Creative Destruction and Godlike Technology in the 21st Century | by Madhav Kunal February 26, 2021

Subscribe to get more!

© 2019 NikolaNews.com - Global Tech Updates

No Result
View All Result
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News

© 2019 NikolaNews.com - Global Tech Updates