As Hong Kong mulls a fake news law, it may be tempted to consider the German Network Enforcement Act, as many Asian governments have. Yet, that law was actually enacted to enhance the ‘notice and take down’ duties of social media platforms with regard to hate speech.
Fake news laws are inherently paternalistic, infantilising the people and denying their natural resilience. Calls to criminalise fake news should be rejected where free speech and press freedom are threatened – the same places they are most popular.