KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 — Social media platform providers will conduct their own assessments and not adhere to government directives to take down any content, said Deputy Minister of Communications Teo Nie Ching.
As per the procedure, she mentioned that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) would request social media platform providers like Facebook, TikTok, and others to take action upon receiving reports about sensitive content on social media.
However, she noted that social media platform providers enforce community guidelines before removing any content.
“They (platform providers) will ultimately decide whether they agree with the views of MCMC and the government.
“If a platform removes specific content, it implies agreement with the government’s assessment and requests. However, there have been government requests rejected by platforms,” she said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
She said this in response to a supplementary question from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (MUDA-Muar) on claims that social media content is being removed out of concern for public criticism.
Teo said that last year, 7,000 pieces of social media content containing hate speech related to the 3Rs (race, religion and royalty), as well as fake news, were removed, as compared to 271 pieces in 2022 and 170 in 2021.
Teo highlighted the Click Wisely programme as one of the Communication Ministry’s efforts to cultivate digitally savvy and morally responsible generations, with 569 programmes organised nationwide in 2023.
Other advocacy efforts aimed at encouraging the public to fact-check information include initiatives such as the SEBENARNYA.MY portal, managed by MCMC, and MyCheck Malaysia, operated by the Malaysian National News Agency(Bernama).
She said this in reply to a question from Datuk Seri Sophia Brodi (GPS-Sri Aman) who wanted to know about the government’s efforts to curb the increasing spread of fake information and disinformation on social media.
— Bernama
