M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
More than 51,000 cases of sensitive social media content on race, religion and royalty were reported in the first three months of this year in Malaysia.
The Malaysian government has urged Facebook operator Meta (META.O), and short video service TikTok to step up monitoring on their platforms.
MCMC, the communications regulator and Malaysian police, in a joint statement, called on these two social media sites to be more vigilant in monitoring and removing sensitive and harmful content.
The Malaysian government reported a sharp increase in harmful social media content this year, referring 51,638 cases (first quarter) to social media platforms. This is a dramatic increase from the 42,904 cases recorded during last year.
In the first three months of 2024, the government, including Meta and TikTok, for further action.
Reuters reported the agencies, MCMC and police, did not specify what types of content were reported, but said the move was part of efforts to restrict the spread of harmful content online, particularly those related to “race, religion and royalty”.
“The agencies said that TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, and Meta were also urged to curb content indicating coordinated inauthentic behaviour or related to financial scams and illegal online gambling.
“Race and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, which has a mainly Muslim ethnic Malay majority, alongside significant ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. It also has laws prohibiting seditious remarks or insults against its monarchy,” Reuters added.
Malaysia has recently increased scrutiny of online content, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration facing accusations of backpedalling on its promises to protect free speech. The government has denied allegations of stifling diverse views, saying it needed to protect users from online harms.
Data published by the firms last year showed that Meta and TikTok restricted a record number of social media posts and accounts in Malaysia in the first six months of 2023 amid an increase in government requests to remove content.
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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