Malaysia Takes Strong Action Against Meta Platforms for "Undesirable Content"

Malaysia Takes Strong Action Against Meta Platforms for "Undesirable Content"

Malaysia has announced its intention to pursue legal action against Facebook parent company Meta Platforms for its failure to remove objectionable posts, marking the country's most significant move against such content to date. The government, led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, aims to address provocative content related to race and religion that has escalated ethnic tensions since coming to power The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission stated that Meta had not adequately responded to requests, necessitating legal measure to ensure cybersecurity accountability and consumer protection.

Amidst concern over a substantial volume of undesirable content on Facebook, including issues involving race, royalty, religion, and scam advertisements, Meta has yet to provide a comment response. Malaysia'a Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 allows legal action for the abuse of network facilities or application services, potentially leading to charge against company officials for aiding criminals activities if charges against company officials for aiding criminals activities if prompt action is not taken.

In Malaysia, matters of race, religion, and the monarchy are highly sensitive topics, and criticism directed towards the royals can be subject to sedition laws. The timing of this action against Facebook is noteworthy, as elections in six states loom, pitting Anwar's multi-ethnic coalition against a conservation Malay Muslim alliance. Facebook holds a dominant position as Malaysia's primary social media platform, with an estimated 60 percent of the population holding registered accounts.

Globally , major social media platforms, including Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, often face regulatory scrutiny regarding content posted on their platforms. Southeast Asian governments frequently make requests for the removal of specifics content. Vietnam, for instance, threatened to shut down Facebook in the country in 2020 unless it complied with government demands to censor more local political content. In Indonesia, Facebook took action in 2019 against numerous local account, pages, and groups associated with a fake news syndicate.

InShort

Malaysia plans to pursue legal action against Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, for not removing "undesirable posts". The move comes as the government aims to tackle provocative content related to race and religion. Malaysia's Communication and Multimedia Commission states that Meta has failed to respond adequately, leading to the need for legal measuring to ensure cybersecurity accountability and consumer protection.