Lecture 10: Cyber law in Malaysia

Cyber Law is any laws relating to protecting the Internet and other online communication technologies. Cyberlaw is a term that encapsulates the legal issues related to use of communicative, transactional, and distributive aspects of networked information devices and technologies. It is less a distinct field of law in the way that property or contract are, as it is a domain covering many areas of law and regulation. Some leading topics include intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction.

In the early 1987, the ICT industry in Malaysia started to growth and it growth rapidly when years past by till now. There are five Cyberlaw acts in Malaysia. There are Digital Signature Act 1997, Computer Crimes Act 1997, Telemedicine Act 1997, Communication and Multimedia Act 1998, and Copyright (Ammenment) Act 1997. The Electronic Transactions Act (ETA), E-Government Activities Act (EGA) and Personal Data Protection Act is the new Cyberlaw Acts in Malaysia.

Malaysia has created the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). MSC development is to control the behavior of computer users in the country. There are 7 flagship applications slated for the MSC:
1. Electronic Government - Multimedia networked paperless administration
2. National Multi-Purpose Card
3. Smart Schools - Distance-learning Universities and wired schools
4. Telemedicine
5. R&D Cluster
6. World Wide Manufacturing Webs - remote manufacturing coordination and engineering support hub
7. Borderless Marketing Centers - multimedia customer service hub to provide electronic publishing, content localization, telemarketing and remote customer care.