REGULATING ONLINE NEWS PORTALS IN THE ERA OF IR 4.0 – SHOULD MALAYSIA CONSIDER SELF-REGULATION?

Abstract

Globally, all activities and industries have been affected by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0), which is ascribed to the fusion of the physical, digital, and biological worlds. Whether they are in printed or digital form, the media business must embrace the new revolution and is not an exception. Since they were already well-established in the electronic environment before the introduction of I.R. 4.0, online news portals are presently leading the way compared to print media. In addition, their operators are not currently required to hold a license authorization (individuals or class) under the Communications and Multimedia Act of 1998 or a publishing permit under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, which both govern the operation of printing presses and publications. In order to ascertain why the current legal frameworks do not apply to online news websites, the study will employ qualitative research by analyzing the extant statutory laws governing the print media, the new convergent communications and multimedia, as well as secondary sources. Additionally, it will examine the self-regulatory framework established by the Multimedia and Communications Content Forum as well as the possibility of employing self-regulation to control print media and perhaps even online news portals. In conclusion, it is proposed that the self-regulatory style could be used to best cover the gap in the country's regulation of online news portals and other websites. With the creation of the proposed media council, which employs the same self-regulatory style to oversee all media industries in Malaysia, the same regulatory framework might be broadened as well to conventional coverage.