Categories: Digital LifeNews

MalaysiaKini calls for help to raise funds to pay RM500,000 fine, exceeded target within 4 hours

MalaysiaKini has been slapped with RM500,000 fine for contempt of court over comments made on its portal in June 2020. During the sentencing, MalaysiaKini was ordered to settle the fine within three days from Monday.

The online news portal had posted a call for public donations at 12.04pm and in 3 hours, they have raised RM270,000. As of 4:00pm, they have raised a total of RM505,000, exceeding its initial target.

Source: MalaysiaKini

According to MalaysiaKini, the fundraiser is now closed and they will provide more details of what they will do with the extra funds soon.

During the sentencing, Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf said the offending comments in question were “spurious and reprehensible” while allegations of corruption were “false and untrue”. MalaysiaKini argued that they were unaware of the comments as it didn’t contain suspected words that could trigger its commenting system’s moderation filters.

After they were contacted by the police, the editorial team had immediately reviewed and deleted the comments within the same day. Editor-in-Chief Steven Gan said “We were not punished for our journalism. We were punished for comments posted by our readers.”

The decision made by the courts has the potential to set a dangerous precedent. While there’s a need for responsible moderation by online publications, it is almost impossible to ensure that readers do not make offending comments on the platform.

[ SOURCE ]

Related reading

Recent Posts

Prime Minister’s Department: Over 1,500 cyberattacks launched at ministries’ infrastructure systems

There have been over 1,500 cases of cyberattacks launched against Malaysian ministries' infrastructure systems in…

59 mins ago

Malaysia’s largest DC charging hub is opening soon at Iskandar Puteri, Johor

DC Handal is expected to unveil what appears to be Malaysia's largest EV charging hub…

17 hours ago

Realme GT 7 Pro coming to Malaysia as first smartphone with Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, launching 18th November

Realme has debuted its latest flagship smartphone, the Realme GT 7 Pro in China, featuring…

17 hours ago

Malaysia to kill off NGVs in 2025 due to safety concerns

Malaysia will ban natural gas vehicles (NGVs) on 30 June 2025. Subsequently, no new natural…

18 hours ago

Is your iPhone 14 Plus having camera issues? Apple has a solution for you

Apple has launched a service program for the iPhone 14 Plus where certain units fail…

20 hours ago

U Family 128: U Mobile offers 1000GB shared data with 4 lines and free roaming for RM128/month

U Mobile has introduced its new U Family 128 offering, a new family plan which…

22 hours ago

This website uses cookies.