KUALA LUMPUR (March 26): The government has tabled its Anti-Fake News Bill 2018 for the first reading in Parliament today, which outlines the offences and the Session Court's power to order removal of the publication of fake news.

According to the tabled Bill, these offences include creating, offering and publishing fake news or publication containing fake news; providing financial assistance for purposes of committing or facilitating commission of such an offence; and failure to carry out duty to remove any publication containing fake news.

The Bill defined fake news as "any news, information, data and reports, which is or 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".

"Any person who, by any means, knowingly creates, offers, publishes, prints, distributes, circulates or disseminates any fake news or publication containing fake news commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding RM500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both, and in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding RM3,000 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction," the Bill read.

Additionally, the court is empowered to order the person convicted of an offence to make an apology to the person affected by the commission of the offence in the manner determined by the court, failure to do so shall be punishable as a contempt of court.

Any person affected by a publication containing fake news may apply ex parte to the court for an order for the removal of the publication.

The Bill also provided extra-territorial application, meaning even if the offence is being committed in any place outside Malaysia, it is dealt with as if the offence was committed within Malaysia.

In its explanatory statement, the Bill stated that the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 seeks to deal with fake news by providing for certain offences and measures to curb the dissemination of fake news.

"As the technology advances with time, the dissemination of fake news becomes a global concern and more serious that it affects the public. The proposed Act seeks to safeguard the public against the proliferation of fake news whilst ensuring the right to freedom of speech and expression under the Federal Constitution is respected," it read.

"The provision on the power of the court to make an order to remove any publication containing fake news serves as a measure to deal with the misuse of publication medium in particular the social media platforms. With the proposed Act, it is hoped that the public be more responsible and cautious in sharing news and information," it added.