KUALA LUMPUR: The government will begin enforcing the Online Safety Act (ONSA) by October this year, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
He said unlike the current Communications and Multimedia Act, which only allows authorities to act on specific content, ONSA will place obligations directly on social media platforms.
“ONSA will cover the platforms themselves. For example, if the Online Safety Committee decides that deepfake content is an offence, then all licensed platforms will be required to take action against it,” he said at a press conference after meeting TikTok officials at Bukit Aman today.
Fahmi said the new law is aimed at strengthening Malaysia’s ability to tackle harmful online activity and ensuring platforms cannot evade responsibility.
“We want to make sure the online space is safe, especially for children and families.
“This is why we need a law that goes beyond content and makes the platforms accountable,” he said.
He also said that enforcement of the Act will be overseen by the Law Minister, with a focus on tackling scams, deepfakes, and other online harms.
