Speaking to FMT, Paulsen said he was concerned that Putrajaya could be distracting itself from more important matters.
He said rumours and fake news were generally inconsequential unless they concerned issues of national security, terrorism or potential violence.
However, he added that he was himself against the spread of fake news.
His remarks followed a statement from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission that warned WhatsApp group administrators of prosecution if their groups were caught spreading fake news.
The announcement was greeted with comments of disapproval from many users of the social media platform.
Paulsen said the public had a duty to prevent fake news from spreading. “Members of the public should be able to counter any fake news themselves before sharing it via WhatsApp.”
He added that “everyone” should be responsible for verifying news or information spread through WhatsApp, not just group administrators.
He said group administrators should take action against members who repeatedly shared fake news. “If any of the group members share fake news repeatedly, the admin should remove that person from the group.”
Another lawyer, Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, agreed that members of the public should be responsible enough to verify the truth of a piece of news before sharing it.
He said it would be difficult for the authorities to monitor fake news and other kinds of rumours.
“Rumours and fake news are spread everywhere and it is difficult for the authorities to access them immediately,” he said.