How Germany’s social media law has unwittingly become a model for ‘fake news’ legislation in Southeast Asia

As Hong Kong mulls fake news legislation, it may be tempted to consider the German Network Enforcement Act, as many Asian governments have

Yet, the German law was actually enacted to enhance the ‘notice and take down’ duties of social media platforms with regard to hate speech

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A commuter ponders an advertisement for Malaysia’s campaign against fake news in March 2018. Photo: AFP

Lasse Schuldt

Lasse Schuldt is assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at Thammasat University, Thailand

Published: 6:45am, 21 Jul 2021Updated: 6:45am, 21 Jul 2021

As the Hong Kong government ponders the next move in its fight against “fake news”, legislators are likely to take a closer look at the German regulatory model. Ironically, though, Germany does not have a “fake news” law.

A growing number of countries, notably in Southeast Asia, have ostensibly drawn inspiration from the German Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) of 2017.

Malaysia enacted its Anti-Fake News Act of 2018 at the peak of the 1MDB scandal, and shortly before a historic election. The act was repealed in 2019, but revived in March this year, with additional police powers, when the government enacted the Emergency (Essential Powers) (No. 2) Ordinance 2021.

Back in 2018, Malaysian ministers defended the act with reference to Western countries such as Germany and France, essentially claiming that even liberal democracies had, or were planning, laws against “fake news”.