Malaysia Sees Removal of Over 159,000 Harmful Content From Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube
A total of 159,518 pieces of harmful online content have been removed from major social media platforms so far this year, according to Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. The content was taken down from Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, with the majority involving online gambling and scams.
Speaking during the Ministry of Communications’ monthly assembly at Menara Komunikasi, Fahmi explained that 51% of the removed content was related to online gambling, while 25% were scams, 12% were cases of cyberbullying, and 9% involved fake news.
“These three platforms alone—Facebook, TikTok and YouTube—account for nearly 95% of all problematic content we identified on social media,” Fahmi said.
The removal forms part of 174,473 takedown requests submitted this year. Among those, 57% were directed at Facebook, 28% at TikTok, and 13% at YouTube.
“Other platforms involve smaller numbers, but these three alone represent nearly 95% of the overall problems we are seeing on social media,” he added.
While acknowledging the progress in content moderation, the Minister expressed concern over the continued presence of child exploitation content, especially on Facebook.
“I wonder whether the current laws and level of cooperation are sufficient, or if we need a more strategic and efficient approach to tackle this issue,” he said.
Fahmi also referred to Op Pedo Bersepadu, a joint operation launched late last year by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to combat child exploitation online.
In addressing future enforcement, Fahmi highlighted the Online Safety Act (OnSA) 2024, passed by Parliament in December and now awaiting full enforcement.
“For everyone’s information, a new act—OnSA—has been approved by Parliament, granted Royal Assent by His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, and is now in the process of being enforced,” he said. The law empowers MCMC to act against platforms that fail to meet their content moderation obligations.
Source: [1] Bernama, [2] BusinessToday Malaysia
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