Fahmi urged critics to carefully examine the draft bill available on the Parliament website.
“If we review the draft of the bill, we can see that the amendments are not limited to Section 233.
“There are 51 pages of changes that aim to improve the Act significantly after 26 years of enforcement,” he told reporters after attending the Lembah Pantai Peduli Ummah Tour programme.
He highlighted two major “game-changing” amendments under Section 233 that aim to address online child exploitation and pornography more effectively.
“Two key offences —paedophilia and the online sale of pornography — will be classified as seizable offences.
“This means the police will have the authority to arrest offenders immediately. These amendments are far from trivial, they are necessary to protect society, particularly children, from sexual predators and criminals,” Fahmi added.
Citing recent cases such as the “Hot Daddy” incident, Fahmi stressed the importance of empowering law enforcement to act decisively.
“Those involved in selling pornography and paedophiles who possess materials depicting sexual crimes against children destroy the society.
“These amendments ensure the police can apprehend these criminals effectively.”
He said the amendments are aimed at enhancing enforcement while safeguarding freedom of expression. “We’ve ensured that aspects of freedom of speech are detailed and cannot be easily misused in the future.”
Last week, two NGOs said the amendments would grant the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the communications minister overreaching powers without oversight, which could lead to censorship.
They cited, among others, the proposed amendment to Section 51A to grant MCMC or any of its members or agents immunity from prosecution or other proceedings for any actions under the law “in good faith”.
The NGOs also said the bill would provide disproportionate punitive measures, with the punishment for the improper use of network facilities increased from a maximum one year to a two-year jail term, and the maximum fine raised tenfold from RM50,000 to RM500,000.
That particular provision, Section 233 of the CMA, also remains vague and could lead to arbitrary interpretations, they added.
No plans to restrict social media usage based on age
Separately, Fahmi said Malaysia does not currently plan to follow other countries in introducing laws to restrict social media usage based on age.
“After the implementation of social media platform licensing starting Jan 1 next year, we intend to emphasise compliance with the platforms’ existing community guidelines.
“Platforms like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram already restrict account creation to users aged 13 and above. Our focus will be on how these platforms verify users’ ages to ensure compliance,” he said.
Last month, Reuters reported that Australia had approved a social media ban for children aged under 16.
The law forces platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (RM139.7 million). A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January with the ban to take effect in a year.