The Asia Internet Coalition said the law fails to define online misinformation, is too general, and places “too much power in the hands of individuals in government”.

AIC managing director Jeff Paine told FMT the coalition has sought further dialogue with Idrus and is awaiting a reply to their letter.

The coalition is an industry association composed of leading Internet and technology companies in Asia Pacific such as Apple, Facebook and Google.

Paine said “online false information is a highly intricate issue that is best addressed through solutions developed collaboratively between industry and government”.

Last month, the government issued an emergency ordinance which criminalises fake news regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and the proclamation of a state of emergency. The penalty for offenders is a fine of up to RM100,000, a jail term of up to three years, or both.

Paine said fake news laws tended to grant extensive powers to the government to issue a correction or take down order for anything it deemed to be a false statement of fact. It placed an “extraordinary amount of power” in the hands of individual government officials and agencies.

He said Malaysia already had sufficient laws to counter fake news such as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Sedition Act 1948 and the Penal Code.