MY govt drafting new act to combat online fraud

The Malaysian government is reportedly drafting a new act to combat online fraud.

Speaking at the 150th anniversary of Taiping Heritage Town dinner, digital minister Gobind Singh Deo reportedly said that the new act is directed towards combating online fraud that affects individuals. 

This comes after it was reportedly said that amendments made to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709) will be coordinated and fully enforced by the digital ministry, according to Bernama.

Deo reportedly added that the amendments to Act 709 will not affect the government's efforts to create a new act to combat online fraud.

Don't miss: MCMC proposes penalties for online platforms to prevent fraud

He also reportedly said that both acts were entirely different from technical and legal implementation perspectives and that the amendments to Act 709 are about ensuring that personal data stored is secured if there is a data breach or hacking incident.

That said, the government will still collaborate to address complaints and will review the direction in which these complaints can be forwarded and resolved by the relevant ministries, Deo added.

Last year, the MCMC proposed penalties for online platforms to prevent fraud. Member Derek Fernandez reportedly said that online platforms should be made financially liable should scams occur.

As reported by The Star, Fernandez claimed that anonymous scammers are able to get away with the crime as they are unidentifiable. The MCMC member also reportedly pushed for a radical change in approach to ensure that anyone who accesses a network facility must be identified.

This is especially more pressing when a crime has been committed so that victims can take legal actions against the scammer.

Such online platforms include social media networks and messaging services where users can create anonymous accounts and use their platforms to scam others.

Photo courtesy Gobind Singh Deo, Facebook

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