However, it can also lead to financial ruin as well as cause health problems and even death.
The recent suicide of TikTok influencer A Rajeswary, believed to have been induced by cyberbullying, underscores the worst of this form of mass communication, leading to calls for a legal framework to regulate social media platforms.
On the day before she died, the 29-year-old Hindu rights activist, also known as Esha, had filed a police report against two individuals for allegedly harassing her on TikTok.
Of the two, P Shalini, 34, has been fined RM100 for “insulting behaviour intended to incite anger and disrupt the peace”. For many, the penalty was way too soft.
The other accused person, 44-year-old B Sathiskumar, is yet to be sentenced.
Universiti Sains Malaysia cybersecurity expert Selvakumar Manickam said current laws, such as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, primarily address traditional forms of bullying given that they came before internet use became widespread.
“Malaysia lacks regulations on cyberbullying,” he told FMT.
“There are no laws to hold social media platforms accountable, especially those based outside Malaysia,” he added.
Selvakumar said Malaysia could emulate countries such as Germany, whose NetzDG mandates swift removal of harmful content, Australia for including penalties for cyberbullying in its Online Safety Act or Singapore which criminalises it under the Protection from Harassment Act.
Holding OSPs accountable
Verge IoT co-founder and CEO Vicks Kanagasingam sees punishing cyberbullies as a reactive measure, “much like a band aid”.
He said online service providers (OSPs), which include social media platforms, email services, news sites, e-commerce platforms and search engines, should be regulated.
OSPs are the entities that offer transmission, routing or connection services for digital communication.
Vicks said regulators now tend to deal with the issue only after a problem has cropped up.
“We should be going after (OSPs) and enforcing regulations on them as they have enabled (cyberbullying),” he told FMT.
He proposed holding OSPs and instant messaging service providers accountable for scams, as it will be done in Singapore under the Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF) which will be rolled out later this year.
Under the SRF, telecommunications companies and financial institutions will also be held accountable for losses through scams.
Murugason Thangaratnam, CEO of cybersecurity firm Novem CS, picks the European Union’s Digital Services Act, which came into effect in November 2022, as a model for a regulatory framework.
The legislation requires OSPs to add “new procedures for faster removal” of content deemed illegal or harmful.
OSPs will also be required to introduce a “clear mechanism” to help users flag illegal content and to cooperate with “trusted flaggers”.
Non-compliance could result in fines of up to 6% of the provider’s total worldwide annual turnover and may trigger enhanced supervision.
Large digital platforms must also conduct annual risk assessments to analyse and reduce systemic risks, including the dissemination of illegal content, and audit their impact on gender-based violence and minors.
A concerted effort
As Murugason points out, addressing cyberbullying requires collaboration among law enforcement agencies, the education sector and ISPs.
“It is the cornerstone of effective response to and prevention of cyberstalking and cyberbullying,” he told FMT.
Vicks said integrating online safety and media literacy in the education curriculum could raise awareness of the problem.
This, he said, will increase vigilance and ensure people recognise cyberbullying when it happens.
“We need to start at school, from the ground up. Understanding this is key to creating harmony and allowing our nation to flourish,” he added.