PETALING JAYA: X (formerly known as Twitter) has been urged to apply for the country’s social media licensing despite not meeting the 8 million users threshold mandating the application.
In a statement, today, Segamat MP R. Yuneswaran said the Elon Musk-owned social media platform could apply for the license as a gesture of goodwill in any case.
“Kudos to the Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and social media platforms WeChat, Telegram, Meta and Tik Tok over the establishment of the Social Media Licensing Framework which takes effect on January 1,” he said.
He also highlighted the importance of MCMC, police and social media platforms in exposing and tackling online crimes.
Last week, Ops Pedo which involved a series of raids on individuals suspected of possessing and distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) which resulted in the arrests of 13 individuals.
The new licensing initiative, he opined, marks a significant step toward ensuring greater accountability in the digital space and will help to create a safe and inclusive online environment.
“Similarly, I would like to urge Google, as the parent company of YouTube, to engage constructively with MCMC to resolve any outstanding issues and to comply with the licensing framework,” he added.
Earlier, MCMC announced four major internet messaging and social media service providers have taken significant steps towards regulatory compliance by applying for licences to operate in Malaysia.
It had said that Tencent (WeChat) has been granted the Applications Service Provider Class (ASP(C)) licence, making it the first service provider to be licensed under the country’s new regulatory framework.
“Following WeChat, ByteDance (TikTok) has successfully obtained its licence. Telegram, meanwhile, is in the final stages of the licensing process and is expected to secure its licence soon.
“Meta, which oversees Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has initiated the process of obtaining its licences to operate these platforms in the country, which is also expected to be completed soon,” MCMC said in a statement .
However, both X (formerly known as Twitter) and Google, which operates YouTube, have yet to submit their applications.
The statement added that according to X, its user base in Malaysia has not reached the required threshold of eight million users.
