Malaysians Stage Blackout Over Internet Regs

Bloggers, site owners could be held liable for defamatory comments posted on pages.

Malaysian Web activists are fighting back against a Parliament ruling that could land bloggers in court.

As noted by the BBC, Aug. 14 was dubbed "Internet Blackout Day" in Malaysia, but since the country runs 12 hours ahead of the U.S. east coast, most Americans were asleep as the protest raged.

Participants blackened their home screens to protest the amendment to Section 114A of the Evidence Act, which was revised in April. The changes place all responsibility on website owners for any defamatory comments posted on the site. The amendment says that anyone can bring legal or criminal action against social networkers, mobile device owners, and even Wi-Fi network service providers who post defamatory comments on any website.