The government will review the eight million user threshold for social media licensing after AI misuse on platform X, says minister Fahmi Fadzil
KUALA LUMPUR: The government will review the licensing conditions for social media, specifically the eight million user threshold, following concerns that online harm can occur even on platforms with a smaller user base.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil cited the recent misuse of the Grok AI function on platform X as an example.
He said platform X is currently exempt from licensing because the company informed authorities it does not have eight million users in Malaysia.
Fahmi described the case involving the application as hybrid in nature, as X is a social media platform while Grok is an AI application.
“Given that a fairly large incident like this has occurred, we will reassess the threshold value of eight million users because online harm does not necessarily not occur even if the number of users is less than that threshold… so we are giving consideration to this matter,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat.
He stated this is a rather hybrid space and requires the ministry, particularly MCMC, to examine it to ensure that from a regulatory aspect, online harm issues can be addressed more comprehensively.
He said representatives from X stated their commitment during a meeting he chaired yesterday.
The purpose was to get an explanation and commitment from X’s representatives regarding prevention steps and efforts to comply with Malaysian law.
Fahmi was responding to a supplementary question in parliament about steps to mandate independent risk assessments for AI functions.
He was also asked if restrictions on Grok were permanent.
Regarding safety audits for social media platforms, Fahmi said the Online Security Committee under the Online Security Act (ONSA) 2025 sets several guidelines.
These will guide the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on matters like annual online safety reports from platforms.
X’s representatives were asked to formally confirm their implemented measures to the MCMC.
This will allow the regulator to assess the effectiveness and take appropriate follow-up or regulatory action.
Fahmi said the MCMC has so far recorded 17 complaints or reports related to the Grok application.
These comprise six official complaints to MCMC, two police reports, eight complaints via social media tags, and one initial report opened by the agency.
For long-term security measures, the government is focusing on strengthening AI governance and online service provider responsibility.
This ensures generated content does not violate Malaysian laws, including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and ONSA 2025.
This approach is supported through stricter content regulation, continuous monitoring, and increased public awareness.
It aims to protect Malaysians, especially children, families, and vulnerable groups, from exposure to harmful online content.
“Most importantly is the readiness of X to come to Malaysia,” Fahmi said.
He added that they have given a commitment that they intend to cooperate more deeply and be involved in several activities, including the Safe Internet Campaign.
