Eric Paulsen, co-founder and executive director of the non-profit Lawyers for Liberty, issued a series of tweets earlier today in relation to police access to your social media accounts.
By law, he writes, authorities are not allowed to ask for social media account passwords, nor can they delete accounts, or change said password, if any mobile phone or laptop is confiscated.
Reports emerged yesterday that 24-year-old PKR supporter, and social media influencer, Muhammad Hafiz Rayyan, was detained by eight to nine police and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) officers over anti-government tweets. He has over 45,000 followers on Twitter.
Authorities arrived at his father’s Klang house on April 8, and detained the young man without warrant, taking his iPhone 5S, and informing him that he was being investigated under section 233 of the Multimedia Act 1998, where he suggested that the currently imprisoned Anwar Ibrahim should be given a chance to lead the country.
He was not offered a lawyer, and they took his statement without a lawyer present as well.
Haffiz told a press conference that they forced him to divulge his Twitter username (honestly, not that hard to find @HaffizRayyan), as well as tell them his password.
After being detained for four hours, he learned that officers had not only changed his password without permission they also changed the email that was linked to his Twitter account.
He was unable to access his social media accounts after leaving police detention, and only regained control of his Twitter account after emailing the platform to explain his situation.
Both Haffiz’s lawyer, as well as Lawyers for Liberty, have clarified that while authorities can look into social media activities, the law stops short of letting them passwords.
Social media users have since rallied around the youth, writing that despite the fact that he was detained, the public should not live in fear.
Cue: Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet
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