Malaysia’s government says it will take legal action against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, for failing to remove undesirable and harmful content from its social media platform.
FILE – The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show on June 14, 2023 in Paris, France. Malaysia’s government said on Friday, June 23, 2023, that it would take legal action against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, for failing to remove “undesirable” content. and harmful content from its social media platforms. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
The Associated Press
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Malaysia’s government said on Friday it would take legal action against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, for failing to remove undesirable and harmful content from its social media platform.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said Facebook has recently been plagued by “a significant amount of undesirable content” relating to sensitive issues such as race, religion and royalty, as well as defamation, impersonation, online gambling and scam ads.
The commission said that repeated attempts to reach out to Meta to remove the harmful content were of no avail.
“META’s response, which has been sluggish and unsatisfactory, has failed to meet the urgency of the matter and has given rise to public concern and scrutiny,” it said in a statement. “Since there has been no adequate cooperation from META, MCMC has no option but to take definite steps or legal action against META as a measure to ensure the safety of people in the physical sector.”
The commission said it would not tolerate “misuse of online platforms and telecommunications services for malicious cyber activities, phishing, or any content that threatens racial stability, social harmony and discredits respect for rulers.” Malaysia has nine ethnic Malay state rulers, whose role is largely ceremonial but respected among the country’s Malay majority.
Earlier this month, the government warned of action against Telegram after it refused to cooperate on complaints about the app’s content and misuse, including the sale of pornography, drugs and investment scams. Telegram scams have cost Malaysians around 45 million ringgit ($9.6 million) since January 2020, local media quoted officials as saying.
Telegram initially said it would not participate in “political censorship of any kind”, but later agreed to work with local authorities to curb illegal activity.
The crackdown against the online platform coincides with elections in six crucial states that are due before the end of August. Although state elections do not affect the federal government, they are closely watched because they will be the first test of public support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government that was formed after a disastrous general election in November.
Anwar faces stiff opposition from the Islamist-dominated National Alliance, which received unexpectedly strong support from Malaysia in November’s election. The National Alliance is hoping for another big showing in the six state elections and has been aggressively using social media to criticize Anwar’s government.
,
Find more information on AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage here
