Before the weekend, Malaysia said it is seeking legal action against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for failing to tear down posts that the former said are “undesirable.” Keep on reading for the details of this news.
The country also said this is the strongest measure it has taken so far concerning such content.
Malaysian gov’t vs. Meta
Facebook, one of the platforms under Meta, is Malaysia’s biggest social media platform. According to the website Commission Factory, there are around 20 million active users of Facebook in Malaysia.
Malaysia’s incumbent prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, and his administration have been active in regulating social media posts that are offensive to race and religion. He has probably learned from the elections that swore him to office, which have led to a significant increase in ethnic tensions.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said Facebook has recently been “plagued” by a significant volume of “undesirable” content that touch on race, royalty, religion, impersonation, defamation, and even scams.
“Meta’s response, which has been sluggish and unsatisfactory, has not met the urgency of the matter and has led to increasing public concern and scrutiny,” the commission told news outlets. “As there is no sufficient cooperation from Meta, MCMC has no option but to take definitive steps or legal action against Meta as a measure to ensure that people are secure and protected in the physical sphere.”
MCMC added that it would not tolerate abuse of these platforms that gives way to “malicious cyber activities, phishing or any content that threatens racial stability, social harmony and defies respect for the rulers.”
Abuse
The commission also detailed what legal action it might take. According to an emailed statement on Saturday, Meta’s offenses could be allowing abuse of network facilities or application services under the country’s Communications and Multimedia Act of 1998.
Under this law, the commission said that company officials, such as those of Meta, could be charged for “wilfully providing means and aiding criminal activity” if immediate action is not taken.
Meta has not yet released any official statement as of press time.
Sensitive issues
Conversations on race and religion are sensitive points in Malaysia, where there is a majority of Muslim ethnic Malays, ethnic Chinese minorities, and ethnic Indian minorities.
It is also interesting to note that Malaysians are also very careful in stating comments about the country’s royals. Negative remarks toward them can violate the nation’s sedition laws.
Not just Malaysia
Malaysia is not alone in requesting social media platforms and their administrations to regulate harmful content.
Last 2020, Vietnam threatened to ban the use of Facebook in the country if it did not adhere to its government’s requests to censor more local political content on its platform. Vietnamese authorities stated that year that local social media platforms removed thousands of posts and videos just during the first quarter, posts that contained false information and violated the nation’s laws.
In 2019, in Indonesia, Facebook took down hundreds of accounts, pages, and groups associated with a fake news syndicate.
