SUBANG JAYA: Social media platform providers need to be more proactive in helping the government combat immoral and illegal activities on social media, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil. He emphasized the necessity for these providers to take immediate action against harmful content rather than waiting for complaints from relevant parties.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Fahmi highlighted a recent incident where a Facebook page related to sexual crimes against children went viral on X. The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) sought technical assistance from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to address the issue, and Meta, the platform provider, eventually removed the content. However, Fahmi criticized Meta for not being proactive, stating that such content should have been flagged from the start. He stressed the need for platforms to be automatically licensed to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Fahmi made these remarks after inaugurating the 8th International Search
Conference: Media Evolution – Navigating Sustainability and Disruption in a Dynamic World, organized by Taylor’s University. He urged social media platform providers to leverage current artificial intelligence (AI) technology to tackle harmful elements online. Fahmi questioned the utility of AI and the significant revenue generated from Malaysians by platforms like Facebook, which earned RM2.5 billion in 2023, if they cannot implement automatic filtering for criminal content.
He further reiterated the importance of introducing a class licence for platform providers under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. This move is seen as crucial in combating three major crimes that have transitioned to the virtual space: online scams and gambling, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes against children.