MCMC removes 1,550 offensive items involving children since 2022, with new laws and campaigns boosting online safety for minors.
KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 1,550 offensive content items involving children have been removed by licensed service providers following firm action by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) from Jan 1, 2022 to June 30 this year.
The Communications Ministry said the removal of the content was carried out through requests submitted by the MCMC to support enforcement efforts through technical assistance, including information sharing and digital forensic analysis to assist investigations by the authorities.
“The MCMC also conducts proactive monitoring of harmful content and takes regulatory action under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 [Act 588] and the Online Safety Act 2025 [Act 866],” said the ministry in a written reply to a question from Senator Michael Mujah Lihan in the Dewan Negara today.
Michael had wanted to know the number of cases involving the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online, as well as the government’s measures to address the issue.
It said statistics on criminal cases related to the misuse of AI and the dissemination of CSAM are recorded by enforcement agencies, particularly the Royal Malaysia Police, according to their respective jurisdictions.
On the legal aspect, the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA), which came into force on Jan 1 this year, requires licensed application service providers and licensed content application service providers to ensure their platforms are safer, including from child sexual abuse material, it said.
The ministry said the Child Protection Code, which came into force on June 1 this year, requires licensed service providers to implement protection measures, including age verification and a ban on social media account registration by users below 16 years old.
It added that the Safe Internet Campaign has been implemented in 10,303 schools and institutions of higher learning, as well as through 2,143 community programmes, involving 2,190,104 participants nationwide as of June 30.
