COVID-19: Asia cracks down on virus 'fake news' COVID-19 eNCA FakeNews
File: From teenagers to a TV star, people have been wrongly detained under vaguely worded cybercrime laws or broad state-of-emergency powers ushered in since the outbreak began, rights groups say.
At least 266 people have been arrested for posting coronavirus-related information in 10 Asian countries, from Thailand to India and Mongolia, according to an AFP tally based on police reports. A middle-aged woman in Sri Lanka spent three days in custody this week after posting a prank message on Facebook saying the president had tested positive for COVID-19, police said.In Cambodia, a Facebook pundit who posted a quote from Prime Minister Hun Sen was charged with incitement to commit felony and is facing up to two years in jail, according to a court warrant seen by AFP.
The pandemic has accelerated this because a crackdown can be perceived as protecting public health, rather than infringing on freedom of speech, he said. Nearly 100 people in India have been arrested for spreading virus misinformation under existing penal laws and the disaster management act -- with punishments including up to one year in prison."While India lacks any specific fake news law, there do exist provisions of laws that can be used for 'rumour mongering'," said Apar Gupta, director of the Delhi-based Internet Freedom Foundation.
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