BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

SOCIAL media users should not commit actions online which they would not do in real life, advised a policeman.

The advice was given by Senior Investigations Officer of the Royal Brunei Police Force, ASP Muhd Izzaldin Mohamed Osman during the question and answer session at the Social Media Forum 2015 held at the AITI building in Anggerek Desa yesterday.

The question put forward to him was how much should the public rely on the government to rescue them from cybercrimes. In response, the Criminal Investigation Department officer said that assistance could be expected of the authorities but social media users should also be smart about what they do.

“The fundamental concept is you should not go online and do things that you would not do in reality,” he said.

He gave an example of how one should not plaster on their door with a notice saying that the house occupants are out on vacation.

“Likewise one should not go about posting online saying one is about to fly or traveling somewhere because it implies that your house is empty and risks break-ins,” he said.

The policeman also reminded netizens who commit cybercrimes that their “anonymity online” would not render them immune from consequences of their actions.

He said that the current legislation in Brunei can hold cybercrime perpetrators accountable via four chapters: the Computer Misuse Act Ch 194, Penal Code Ch 22, Public Order Act Ch 148 and Sedition Act Ch 24.

These include spreading false reports likely to cause public alarm or despondency and spreading false information that would give rise to the apprehension of safety.

Another speaker at the forum, Manager of Content Regulation at AITI, Nur Syamimi Suhaimi said that members of the public could report abusive messages they have received.

“Members of the public can report abuse or inappropriate content to Content Advisory Council (CAC) secretariat at 2323232 or email info.cac@aiti.gov.bn,” she said.

“The CAC can cascade the messages to the relevant agencies that are looking into several matters concerned over the WhatsApp issue.”

The forum was organised by the Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) in conjunction with the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day 2015 (WTISD 2015) with the theme “Telecommunications and ICTs: Drivers of innovation”.

Delivering his welcoming remarks was the Chief Executive of AITI Pg Mohd Zain Pg Hj Abd Razak.

The guest of honour Permanent Secretary (Media and Cabinet) at the Prime Minister’s Office Hj Mohd Rozan Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Yunos then delivered his speech which highlighted the pros and cons of social media.

The forum was broken down to two sessions of panel discussion focused on the smart and responsible use of social media.

Moderating the first session was Counsel and Deputy Public Prosecutor, Criminal Justice Division from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Christopher Ng, with the theme “Encouraging partnership to build good ethics and self-regulation in the use of social media”.

The three speakers were RBPF’s Muhd Izzaldin Mohamed Osman, Deputy Director of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Ruzamri Ruwandi, and the Manager of Content Regulation at AITI, Nur Syamimi Suhaimi.

The second forum with another theme: “Writing on the wall responsibly” was moderated by Commercial and Prosperity Manager of the British High Commission, Delwin Keasberry.

The panelists came from different sectors including Sub-Editor from The Brunei Times, Dewi Rinawati Mohd Sofri, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) student Azizan Abd Razak, and Operation Officer from the IT Protective Security Services Sdn Bhd (ITPSS), Ak Md Farid Zulhusni Pg Aziz.

The Brunei Times