For instance, they need not give the authorities access to their devices or social media accounts, said Lawyers for Liberty executive director Eric Paulsen.

Speaking to FMT, Paulsen said those who were being investigated by the authorities over social media postings only needed to provide basic details including their name, address, identity card number and background.

Twitter user Muhammad Hafiz Rayan, who was detained and investigated earlier this month over his postings, recently cried foul after the authorities changed the passwords to his Twitter account.

Hafiz, who has over 45,000 Twitter followers, is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act after uploading photographs critical of Prime Minister Najib Razak and urging support for jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Paulsen said: “It is important for people to remember that the authorities are neither your enemies nor your friends.”

He said if social media users got into trouble with the law over their postings, and if they felt that the authorities’ action was politically motivated, there was no obligation for them to cooperate with the authorities beyond what was required.

Paulsen said those being investigated weren’t obliged to provide the password to their device or social media accounts.

He said the authorities could seize the phone and dissect it, but there was no need for those being investigated to incriminate themselves by answering questions on their postings.

He added that it was up to the authorities to investigate, the public prosecutor to press charges and the court to give its verdict.

“The authorities, in the course of their investigation, can seize and dissect the phone without a warrant, but they cannot take matters into their own hands and change a password or delete an offensive tweet.”

He said, however, the risk a person took in not cooperating was that their device could end up damaged in the course of an investigation.

“If you choose not to provide the details to access your phone and social media account, and in the process of dissecting the phone, it ends up damaged, then it won’t be easy to get compensation.”

The authorities, he said, were given leeway in investigating a crime, so although a person could take legal action against the authorities for damaging their device, it would be costly and an uphill battle, especially if they didn’t cooperate.

“Even if the phone is returned after being investigated or dissected by the authorities, it is unlikely that it is safe to be used. So it is as good as a wipeout.”