She said the bill aims to place a “duty of care” on online platforms and allow users to channel complaints directly to the authorities, to whom the platforms would be answerable.

“Do you think anyone who sells an application should register (for a licence)? I think they should, so I as a user would know how, where and who to make complaints to.

“This new law is not about regulation. This new law is about duty and what is expected of you,” she told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Azalina also clarified that while the registration of online platforms falls under the communications ministry and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Online Safety Bill is focussed on being a legal point of reference for agencies such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

“It will not contain regulatory laws such as those currently available under MCMC,” she said.

Azalina said the legal affairs division is currently in phase two of the bill’s formulation, and will soon move on to phase three, which involves further stakeholder engagement.

Earlier this year, deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching said the Online Safety Bill is expected to be tabled by the end of this year at the latest.

Meanwhile, Azalina also reiterated that while the government’s stance is not to take down social media posts as it pleases, users remain liable for defamatory statements posted online.

“You have the freedom to express yourself. But if your expression of speech causes harm, like a statement that is slanderous or libellous, many (other) laws are available.

“I cannot stop you from talking, but you have to be responsible for what you say. If you say something to me that is slanderous or libellous, I can take action against you, whether civil or criminal.

“But I can’t stop you from talking. The same thing goes for social media,” she said.