SIBU: A call has been made for the enforcement of a regulation requiring all Facebook users to be registered.
The objective is to keep track of their online activities, suggests Nangka assemblyman Dr Annuar Rapaee, adding that the move would also enable authorities to identify users who misuse cyberspace to incite issues and controversies.
“I hope the government could impose such a regulation where all Facebook (users) are registered according to their mobile phones or identity cards.
“I do hope that there would be a way to make this possible or else, it (misuse of social media) would be difficult to control. Such step is necessary in countering baseless allegations propagated on social media,” he told reporters yesterday when met during the ‘Back to School’ programme at MMB hall in Kampung Hilir here.
Dr Annuar then presented a scenario to prove his point.
“Let’s say there’s a hoax that has gone viral on the Internet, where it is seen by a million people online. One half of the viewers may not believe it, but the remaining 500,000 may do.
“This could be very damaging if the hoax had the potential to adversely affect the lives of some people, jeopardise companies or bring about fear and unrest in society.”
Moreover, the assemblyman said the abuse of social media brought many problems to youths.
“In cyberspace, there’s no restriction when it comes to connectivity — whoever wants to get in touch with you, can do so unless you block them.”
Asked for his comments on a case where a youth cooked up the story about being a kidnap victim to cover up the truth about her running away from home, Dr Annuar said the situation underlined the importance of parents to keep a good eye on their children.
“My advice — you should not blindly believe everything you hear from your children. Verify the information first, whether it comes from your children or other people like their friends.
“Admittedly, it hurts or displeases us to hear negative things about our children but the responsibility is on us to verify them. If the things turned out to be false, then it’s good; but what if they’re true?
“As parents, we must never turn a blind o n this kind of thing,” he stressed. -Borneo Post.
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