FeaturedPress Statements

Government must enact Palestinian Struggle Anti-Censorship Law against social network companies

MACSA stands in solidarity with the Palestinians in their fight for their inalienable rights of self determination over the Palestinian Territory and condemns the continuous long standing violations by the Israeli Government of various international laws for displacing Palestinians from their homes, establishing new settlements, extrajudicially killing of Palestinian civilians, indiscriminately detaining Palestinian children and women and many others well documented grievous violations.

MACSA thus applauds the many Malaysians and others around the world who had voiced their dismay and objections against the flagrant violations of the Israel government against the Palestinians. The plights and suffering of Palestinians have been effectively conveyed and disseminated in particular through the social media.

Towards this end, MACSA views with grave concerns of the many reports and allegations of unfair, discriminatory and arbitrary censorship by giant social network companies namely Facebook, Twitter and TikTok of legitimate disclosure of such violations. Numerous allegations were made that these companies suppressed free speech by deleting and halting the dissemination of fair comments and/ or closing accounts by arbitrary means without due justification and process.

It is about time these giant social network companies be made accountable for their suppression of free speech. The Palestinians have endured for far too long the brutal treatment under the Israeli regime and any further suppression of their rights to protest and cause is totally inhumane and unacceptable.

It is for this instance MACSA calls on Malaysia to be the first country in the world to enact a “Palestinian Struggle anti-censorship Act/ Ordinance” to make the giant social network companies accountable in their suppression of free speech.

MACSA however does recognise the rights of these companies to suppress hate speech but what constitutes hate speech must be made clear. Any suppression of free speech must be executed in a fair and transparent manner and not through an arbitrary and opaque way as it is done now. These giant social network companies should be fine for not complying with the law.

JOINT STATEMENT:

Lukman Sheriff Alias
Founder of Malaysian Lawyers Circle (MLC) and Chairperson, Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations (MACSA)

Associate Professor Dr. Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar
President of The International Women’s Alliance for Family Institution and Quality Education (WAFIQ) and Co-Chairperson, Malaysian Alliance of Civil Society Organisations (MACSA)

Suwardi bin Yaacob
Chairperson of MyAQSA Foundation

MACSA is a coalition of civil society organisations with the specific aim and object to look into, as well as advocate, human rights issues in Malaysia for the UPR Process.

MyAQSA Foundation works in providing legal assistance to Palestine as an amicus curiae for the International Criminal Court on the alleged war crimes against Israel.

Also published in The Star.

 

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