PETALING JAYA: A total of 80,657 posts on TikTok and 2,854 on Telegram amounting to 83,511 in total from January 2022 to July 31 this year, were taken down by service providers following requests from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The Communications Ministry said the removals involved obscene, indecent, false, threatening or highly offensive content that contravened Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).
“The action was not based on political criticism but was carried out in line with existing legislation, regardless of political affiliation or background,” it said in a written reply to the Parliament yesterday (Aug 25).
The matter was raised by Tanah Merah MP Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz, who had asked the ministry on how many TikTok and Telegram accounts had been suspended for criticising the government.
The ministry stressed that each takedown request is submitted to the platform providers, who then assess and act based on their community guidelines.
“Every request made is in accordance with existing laws to ensure that freedom of expression is not misused, while balancing individual rights and public interest for overall well-being,“ the ministry added.
