KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) received 5,341 complaints involving online bullying and harassment between Jan 1, 2023, and Oct 15 this year, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
He said the government was strengthening online safety measures through legislation, platform regulation, enforcement and public awareness initiatives to protect users, particularly children and vulnerable groups.
Speaking when winding up the debate on the 2027 Supply Bill in the Dewan Rakyat today, Fahmi said the government’s Safe Internet Campaign included education and advocacy programmes for parents, guardians, teachers and communities to address online threats.
The initiatives included parent-teacher conventions and community carnivals nationwide, with efforts to encourage the use of parental control functions on devices and online services.
He said protecting children from online threats required a shared responsibility involving families, educational institutions, communities, government agencies and digital service providers.
On the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), Fahmi said the government was strengthening safeguards against AI-generated and manipulated content, including deepfake images and voices.
The Risk Mitigation Code, which came into force on June 1, requires licensed service providers to introduce measures to reduce risks associated with such content, including labelling and tagging AI-generated or manipulated material.
He said a case involving the circulation of fake nude images of female students in Seremban remained under investigation by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM).
MCMC was working closely with the police and Meta to assist with the investigation and any further action, he added.
Meanwhile, MCMC and the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) were studying the risks associated with online gaming, particularly those affecting children’s safety, user interactions and game content.
Fahmi said CMCF was also conducting a public consultation to develop a Gaming Sub-Code involving application store operators, local and international game developers, online safety experts, the e-sports industry, legal practitioners and researchers.
The findings would help determine whether further regulatory measures were necessary, based on evidence and assessed risk levels, he said.
The government was also strengthening platform accountability under the Online Safety Act 2025, which came into force on Jan 1 this year, he added.
