Topic: 2025 – Protecting and Empowering Youth in Digital Spaces
Country: Malaysia
Delegate Name: Jay Jariwala
Human Rights Committee
Protecting and empowering youth in digital spaces
Federal Republic Malaysia
Jay Jariwala
Forest Hills Eastern
Addressing youth in digital spaces is critical because of the problems caused. Suicide rates are rising by two to three times for young people in the digital space. The occurrence of virtual kidnappings is also on the rise; individuals or groups seek extortion by claiming they have kidnapped a loved one. While there is no concrete number that this has increased, an estimate shows that it has grown by at least 33%. The spread of misinformation is also part of the negative impact. Young individuals using technology can be extremely vulnerable and impressionable, so the spread of misinformation is no trivial matter. Over 86% of people believe that they have fallen victim to misinformation floating around; Americans estimate that over ⅔ of the information and news they see online is either untrue or inaccurate. Suicide rates are increasing, and virtual kidnappings are being used to extort the young and the old, and the spread of misinformation all show how young people in digital spaces need to be protected and empowered. All of these cause a nation to be less centralized and less unified, and without unification, a nation is likely not to last. The World Health Organization(WHO) has set guidelines on mental health in digital spaces by integrating mental health into general health systems and developing the Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030. The Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan aims to improve mental health through leadership programs, community care, promotion, and prevention strategies. The United Nations action in decreasing virtual kidnapping rates is through the Child Online Protection(COP) initiative. They recommend parents install parental controls on their child’s device to reduce the number of scam calls or options that are available when faced with scams. They also recommend limiting information sharing on devices for young children while giving more slack to educated or sensible teens. COP has many partners, like the U.S. Department of Justice. They encourage open communication between parents and children about online safety and privacy. On the matter of decreasing the amount of misinformation, the United Nations has made statements on the processes that should be followed. It is believed that in most cases, if the misinformation is vague and does not initiate a harmful effect, the best option is to leave it be and let the user use their right of free speech, which is something every human has. In cases where misinformation has a harmful effect, they have stated that it should be corrected by the appropriate specialist or leaders in that field. If an individual has a history of spreading harmful misinformation, local or state authorities should take appropriate actions.
Malaysia is significantly affected by the issues of Suicide, virtual kidnappings, and the spread of misinformation. Suicide rates in Malaysia are primarily due to cyberbullying among young teens and adults. As a result, to decrease the rates, they have removed repercussions on attempts of suicide and said, “Encouraging individuals to seek help without fear of legal repercussions”(National Institute of Health). The legislation of Malaysia has set penalties for cyberbullying to help decrease the amount of online hate spreading around. The punishments can include incarceration or fines, depending on the severity of the bullying; crimes such as doxxing and harassment result in the most severe punishment, and others can result in smaller yet still significant penalties. Virtual kidnappings in Malaysia are also a growing problem. To help combat these, the national government of Malaysia has set up processes through the “National Child Policy”, which helps against the sexual exploitation of young individuals in digital spaces. Virtual kidnappings can be inferred into many things, and cyberbullying and exploitation are also included under the broad umbrella. Currently, Malaysia is the second in Asia for having high cyberbullying rates, and to fix that, our Prime minister deputy and other officials have put out laws to aid in the prevention of such incidents. Improving cyberbullying rates would also help fix other problems, such as suicides and the spread of misinformation. Finally, the country of Malaysia also likes to make comments on the spread of misinformation. The spread of misinformation is a major issue not only in our country but many others around the world. Many sources show that close to 60-80% of people can’t tell fake news apart from real news. This is an issue because of the power people have when most information they put out is believed, even if it is a total lie. Malaysia is affected by the problem of misinformation in many ways; one such way is that elections held in Malaysia are often not overchecked, and this has caused political influences among the common folk. Through spreading misinformation, corrupt government officials have gained more power and can continue to spread it. Due to Malaysia’s weak police and army systems, enforcing laws upon these corrupt people is a tedious and difficult process, which usually involves getting multiple names dragged through the mud, even if most information stated is fake. Though Malaysia has ratified laws that make the spread of misinformation illegal, without strong police or military forces enforcing those laws is difficult.
Malaysia wants to decrease all of the negative factors previously stated, as we believe it will better our nation and others like us. To assist in the reduction of suicide rates, we propose that laws reprimanding people who make attempts be abolished or reduced. Due to laws such as this, many people who need help after they have second thoughts or do not go through with it choose not to tell anyone, as it may result in them facing consequences. Allowing young people to get the help they need while keeping them safe is the goal Malaysia is trying to achieve, and set as the goal for other nations as well. In addition, Malaysia recommended that laws be put in place to help prevent or stop cyberbullying before it leads to virtual kidnappings. Virtual kidnappings could include sexual extortion, extortion, scamming, threats, and other factors, which would lead to other issues. We would like to propose that serious crimes, such as doxxing, be harshly punished while smaller crimes are reprimanded but not as harshly. To add, acts of harassment should be punished slightly under that of doxxing, as they still lead many times to mental problems of the victims, and result in a handful of issues. Digital spaces are meant to be used as a resource for young and old people alike to develop and connect, not spread hate and disillusion others. Finally, to conclude the topic of spreading things online, the topic of misinformation shall not be overlooked. Misinformation is a major issue in many countries, and it leads to devastating effects, as many people can’t tell the difference between it and real sources. Malaysia has orders in effect, but we would also like to make it clear that we do not have the force to enforce those laws, so in addition to proposing laws against the spread of misinformation, we would like to propose countries with higher GDPs’s be able to voluntarily donate money or forces to help other nations who have orders but no means of enforcement. Misinformation is very critical as it can be sent as a harmless joke and snowball into a large mess that could severely impact a country. Purposefully spreading misinformation should be harshly punished, as in many cases it has even caused corrupt political leaders to win positions of power. Malaysia proposes the placement of harsh laws on misinformation with the intent of causing serious harm.
