KUALA LUMPUR: A survey conducted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to confirm that the number of X users (formerly Twitter) in the country is below eight million is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said X’s operator previously indicated that they do not meet the requirements to apply for an Applications Service Provider Class Licence (ASP (C)) to operate in Malaysia, as their local user base does not reach the eight-million threshold.
“For this reason, MCMC is conducting a survey to determine, based on our data and analysis, whether X has more than eight million users,” she said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara today.
Teo said that MCMC is also engaging with the platform’s provider and two other companies, namely Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as Google, both of which have yet to obtain an ASP (C) licence.
She was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew on whether the Communications Ministry has set a deadline for eligible companies to apply for an ASP (C) licence and what actions will be taken if they fail to comply.
The Deputy Minister said there is no fixed deadline for social media platform providers to secure the licence, but MCMC may take several actions if they fail to apply.
“For instance, under Section 126, following the amendment of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 on Feb 11, service providers convicted of an offence may face a fine not exceeding RM1 million or imprisonment of up to 10 years, as well as a daily fine of RM100,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction.
“Additionally, under Section 243, we can impose a compound not exceeding 50 per cent of the maximum fine amount,” she said.
To a supplementary question from Senator Tiew Way Keng on the ministry’s efforts to address fraud cases and various issues on Meta and Google platforms, Teo said that as of March 15, a total of 46,929 pieces of content had been removed from Facebook, including those linked to scams and online gambling.
“The ministry and the government will continue to uphold freedom of speech. However, the challenge we face is the vast amount of pornographic content, scams and online gambling activities on platforms such as Facebook.
“As such, we need to take stricter measures if Meta remains uncooperative,” Teo said.
She added that the government and MCMC would urge Meta to tighten advertising procedures in Malaysia, similar to those implemented in Singapore.
“In Singapore, advertisers must verify their identity before posting ads or boosting content. The question is, why is this stringent screening applied only in Singapore and not globally?”
“If they can tighten their screening procedures for advertisements in Singapore, why can’t they do the same in Malaysia, Thailand and other countries? This is something worth considering,” she said.
