Malaysia passes law banning ‘fake news’

Malaysia’s parliament on Monday passed a law that bans “fake news.”

The Anti-Fake News 2018 bill was passed by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government in a simple majority vote, Reuters reported.

Offenders could face fines of up to 500,000 ringgit, about $123,000, and a sentence of up to six years in jail.

{mosads}“This law aims to protect the public from the spread of fake news, while allowing freedom of speech as provided for under the constitution,” Law Minister Azalina Othman Said told parliament, according to the news outlet.

Under the measure, fake news is defined as “news, information, data and reports which is or are wholly or partly false.” 

Before the vote Monday, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, urged the government to “reconsider the bill and open it up to regular and genuine public scrutiny before taking any further steps.”

He cautioned the government against pushing the bill quickly through the parliament.

President Trump frequently uses the term “fake news” to refer to negative coverage of his administration. He often rails against the media and accuses networks of promoting fake news stories.

Earlier this year, Trump handed down “Fake News Awards,” with recipients including CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times — frequent targets of the president.