Malaysia lawmaker calls on government to curb online hate speech News
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Malaysia lawmaker calls on government to curb online hate speech

Malaysia lawmaker Chin Foon Hing on Tuesday called on the government to do more to stop online hate speech in light of a Reuters report that shows hate speech on Facebook incited violence against the Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar.

Hing questioned the government for their plan to curb anti-migrant hate speech and sentiment on social media.  In response, the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia said that it has awareness programs and advocacy programs to remind the public not to abuse social media and not to disseminate content that is critical of a group.

The Ministry further added that Facebook deletes content if the content violates their terms and conditions, as well as if the content violates community standards which are set by them.

Hing called this response by the Ministry as, “a weak answer that reeks of sheer irresponsibility and the government’s intention to wash their hands off these xenophobic activities by blaming Facebook of not controlling the same.”

Hing wishes to enact legislation called the Social Harmony Act, which aims to control hate speech and to promote harmony in the cyberspace.

 

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