PUTRAJAYA: Social media platforms Facebook, TikTok and YouTube have agreed to remove 159,518 pieces of content related to online gambling, scams, cyberbullying and fake news as of yesterday, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the figure is part of 174,473 online content takedown requests made so far this year.
“Of the total, nearly 160,000 pieces of content have been taken down, with 51 per cent involving online gambling, 25 per cent scams, 12 per cent cyberbullying and nine per cent fake news.
“Of these, 57 per cent were on Facebook, 28 per cent on TikTok, and 13 per cent on YouTube. Other platforms involved smaller numbers, but these three alone represent nearly 95 per cent of the overall problems we are seeing on social media,” he said at the Communications Ministry’s monthly assembly at Menara Komunikasi here today.
Present were Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching and secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, as well as Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
Fahmi said that despite the ongoing efforts to remove such harmful content, there are growing concerns over the continued presence of child exploitation content online, particularly on Facebook.
“This raises the question of whether existing laws and cooperation are sufficient, or whether we need a more strategic and efficient approach to tackle the issue.
“We are aware that late last year, the Royal Malaysia Police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) conducted an integrated operation known as Op Pedo,” he said.
On the government’s move to implement a licensing framework for social media platforms earlier this year, Fahmi said the initiative aims to make digital platforms in Malaysia safer, especially for children.
He added that the government’s efforts have continued with the passing of the Online Safety Act (OnSA) 2024 in Parliament last December, which will be enforced soon.
“For everyone’s information, the OnSA has received royal assent from His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and is currently in the process of being enforced,” he said.
The OnSA grants the MCMC the authority to take action against social media platforms that fail to fulfil their obligations.
