Malaysia’s new cyber law stirs fears of ‘death knell’ for free speech

Malaysia’s move to make social media platforms obtain licences – ostensibly to protect children from harmful content – has raised fears over free speech among the country’s civil society, who are concerned it may ultimately be wielded against government critics and other dissenting voices online.

All social media and internet messaging services with at least 8 million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a licence or risk being blocked from the country, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

The new rules, announced on Saturday, would create a safer online ecosystem “for children and families”, the commission said, adding the regulations would come into effect on January 1, 2025.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has repeatedly slammed online platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Telegram and X, for their patchy efforts to control the proliferation of scams, cyberbullying, and paedophilic content on the internet.

But the looming threat of a new cyber law by stealth has alarmed freedom of expression advocates in the country.

Calling it the “death knell for freedom of speech and expression in Malaysia”, human rights lawyer and activist Eric Paulsen criticised the government for pushing these new licensing and cyber laws “with little consultation and in haste”.

“What we have here is painfully little context provided other than several vague, sweeping and unsubstantiated statements by various ministers as to why we require such drastic laws that will surely further impinge freedom of speech and expression,” Paulsen told This Week in Asia.

While its traditional mainstream media has largely been under some form of government control since independence in 1957, Malaysians have enjoyed a broad