Curtailing Free Expression, Opinion and Information Online in Southeast Asia information online.436 In October 2019, however, following the election of the new Pakatan Harapan coalition government, a bill to repeal the AFNA was passed through the lower house of the Parliament, which looks set to take effect within a year.437 Although it is a commendable development that the law will now not be enacted, the AFNA is another example of a law that would have rolled back rights protections online, if it had been rushed into force before the elections. Overbroad provisions under sections 4, 5 and 10 of the AFNA allowed for government authorities not only to hold criminally liable any person who “creates, offers, publishes, prints, distributes, circulates or disseminates any fake news or publication containing fake news”, but also any person who “abets” or “directly or indirectly” provides “financial assistance” to the offence.438 Severe penalties of up to six years’ imprisonment, fines of up to RM 500,000 (approx. USD 121,212) or RM 3,000 (approx. USD 727) for every day of a continuing offence, were prescribed. Section 6 of the AFNA thereafter obliged any person “having in his possession, custody or control any publication containing fake news to immediately remove such publication” at risk of fines of up to RM 100,000 (approx. USD 24,252) or up to RM 3,000 (approx. USD 727) per day for every day of a continuing offence.439 Sections 4 and 6 potentially incentivized online intermediaries, such as social media platforms, administrators of web or media pages and search engines, to remove content “immediately” at risk of hefty criminal sanctions, without adequate consideration to transparency, due process of law or rights protection.440 Extra-territorial application permitted under section 3 of the Act to control any “fake news” affecting Malaysia or “any person affected by the commission of an offence who is a Malaysian citizen” also violated the right 436 ICJ, ‘Malaysia: Anti-Fake News Bill threatens freedom of expression, may lead to the suppression of critical speech’, 27 March 2018, Available at: https://www.icj.org/malaysia-anti-fake-newsbill-threatens-freedom-of-expression-may-lead-to-the-suppression-of-critical-speech/; Southeast Asian Press Alliance, ‘Infographic: Malaysia’s Anti-Fake News Bill’, 3 April 2018, Available at: https://www.seapa.org/infographic-malaysias-anti-fake-news-bill/; Article 19, ‘Malaysia: ‘Anti-Fake News Act’ Legal Analysis’, April 2018 (‘Article 19 Analysis’), Available at: https://www.article19. org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018.04.22-Malaysia-Fake-News-Legal-Analysis-FINAL-v3.pdf 437 Azril Annuar, ‘Anti-Fake News Act repealed by Dewan Rakyat again’, Malay Mail, 9 October 2019, Available at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/10/09/anti-fake-news-actrepealed-by-dewan-rakyat-again/1798721; Straits Times, ‘Malaysia Parliament passes law to scrap anti-fake news Bill again, abolishing it within the year’, 9 October 2019, Available at: https://www. straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-parliament-passes-law-to-scrap-anti-fake-news-law-againabolishing-it-end-of 438 Anti-Fake News Act 2018 (Act 803)(‘AFNA’), sections 2, 4, 5, 10, Available at: http://www. federalgazette.agc.gov.my/outputaktap/20180411_803_BI_WJW010830%20BI.pdf 439 AFNA, section 6. 440 See also Article 19 Analysis, pp. 12, 13. 117