KUALA LUMPUR – Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching (Kulai-PH) has reiterated the ministry’s criticism of social media giant Meta for apparently failing to take strict action against online scammers preying on members of the public.
Addressing the Dewan Negara today, the deputy minister said that the ministry, along with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), will not compromise in ensuring that social media content online adheres to existing laws.
Teo, however, disclosed that service providers such as Meta and Google had previously expressed their “reservations” on requests by the government to take down online content containing explicit or illegal elements.
“Additionally, (regarding) our requirement for social media platforms to be licensed, I must admit in the House now that they (service providers) have their own reservations,” Teo said in response to a supplementary question from Senator Abun Sui Anyit (PH).
“But, as other members of the House have pointed out earlier, these online platforms have a lot of unhealthy content, such as online gambling which is against our laws. We cannot allow (the spread of) gambling advertisements, which are abundant on Meta’s platform.”
Teo then said that she herself noticed many advertisements on a Meta platform where supposed scammers “disguise” themselves as individuals capable of securing a red identification card (IC) or permanent resident status for those who fall for their schemes.
“We in the Dewan here know that this is the work of scammers, but people outside there might not know. The question here is, why is Meta accepting advertisement fees from scammers and helping them to cheat people?” she asked.
Previously, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai-PH) had urged Meta – the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – to not waste any more time in cracking down on scammers and paedophiles making use of its platforms.
Fahmi added that since Putrajaya has established a licensing requirement for social media platforms aimed at curbing online crimes, Meta should “just get on with it” instead of furnishing excuses to justify its lack of enforcement.
Meanwhile, Teo also said that since she and Fahmi assumed their roles, they have held 21 engagement sessions with multiple service providers to discuss various issues related to social media platforms.
Senator Musoddak Ahmad (PN) also queried Teo on the government’s strategy to ensure that harmful content spread through online streaming platforms can be controlled and curbed.
In response, Teo said that in 2024, MCMC has restricted access to 849 websites with explicit content, assuring that monitoring measures are continuously executed to ensure compliance from platform providers such as Meta, Google and TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.
She also said that the scope of the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF), as the implementer and enforcer of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Content Code, does not extend to Over-the-Top (OTT) platform services hosted outside of Malaysia.
“However, on December 20, 2023, CMCF introduced additional guidelines, dubbed the Online Curated Content (OCC) Guidelines, which contain best practices for OCC service providers such as Astro Go and Netflix.
“This initiative functions as a comprehensive self-control measure to reshape the TT service landscape available in the nation,” she added. – November 11, 2024