Lawyers: Act will result in more cautious Net users

I was quoted in The Star’s recent article on the amendments of the Evidence Act 1950.

PETALING JAYA: The newly-amended Evidence Act will potentially result in a wave of more cautious Internet users, say lawyers, as the onus is now on the person to prove they did not post or create offending material.

If one is hauled up, however, maintaining innocence might prove to be tricky unless Internet users are more thorough with safety measures, they said.

“Witnesses or documents would suffice, depending on circumstan­ces.

“However, if you’re a website owner and someone posts such comments, there’s no way out,” said KL Bar IT Committee co-chairman Foong Cheng Leong.

Foong advised Internet users to secure their WiFi connection, frequently update their anti-virus software, use strong passwords and refrain from retweeting or republishing anything dubious or unverified.

“Or, you could stop using the Internet and start sending snail mail,” he commented, tongue-in-cheek.

Lawyer and activist Edmund Bon said that in the case of anonymous comments, there was al­ways the option of tracking IP addresses.