Fahmi: Gov’t to assess steps to strengthen compliance on social media platforms

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — The Communications and Digital Ministry is currently assessing the necessary steps to strengthen compliance with the law on social media platforms.

Its minister, Fahmi Fadzil said this is following a statement by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) yesterday calling for social media platforms to be held accountable for hate speech and divisive content. 

He said several engagement sessions with major social media platforms and operators such as TikTok, Telegram, Meta and X had also been held to ensure better compliance.

“We hope to be able to make a substantial and substantive announcement soon. I have also met with APHR and this is one of the things which I had raised as well. On the part of the government, we see today that oftentimes, content that goes viral is usually unverified.

“I have also read the report from Al-Jazeera about the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict and how a lot of fake news is also taking place on social media. Unfortunately, they highlighted Malaysia as a prime example of fake news,” he said at a press conference after the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Capacity Development Awards Night 2023 today.

Following the Al-Jazeera report, Fahmi said MCMC has been told to look into the matter.

“It’s very unfortunate that Malaysia has been called out on an international stage for spreading fake news about the Palestine-Israel conflict. But with regard to what APHR said, the ministry and regulators will definitely be assessing this matter.

“As we know, none of the social media platforms are registered or licensed by MCMC. We need to make sure everything is in order so give us a little bit of time and we’ll make an announcement soon,” he added.

Commenting on the meeting with TikTok in Parliament earlier this evening, he said details will be shared via a press statement tomorrow.

On the MCMC event, Fahmi said it aims to celebrate the achievements of individuals and organisations who have successfully participated and supported MCMC’s capacity development programmes.

He noted the event also indicates MCMC’s commitment to ensuring resources for skilled labour,  knowledge capital and development of capabilities and skills for the communications and multimedia industries.

“I also urge industry players to play a crucial role in developing capabilities to innovate and adapt to changing market conditions. Together, we can build a vibrant and competitive industry that can contribute significantly to the Malaysian economy,” he said.

The awards were divided into two categories namely the Excellent Participant Award for Converged Telecommunication Policy and Regulations (CTPR) Masterclass 2023 and MCMC Chairman’s Recognition Award for MCMC Capacity Development Programme (CDeP) Top Participation 2023.

Among the winners of the CTPR category award were Rachel Chan Wai Lai (MCMC) and Khairul Akmal Zahri (TM) whereas winners of the CDeP category were the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd and the Ministry of Health.

At the event, Fahmi also witnessed the exchange of collaboration documents between MCMC and the Manpower Department (JTM) for the joint development of skills programmes between MCMC and the Kepala Batas Industrial Training Institute in Penang.