Malaysian authorities have declared an intention to legally target Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, citing the company’s alleged failure to curtail ‘undesirable’ content on its social media platform.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) expressed concern over a significant volume of content on Facebook, spanning themes of race, royalty, religion, defamation, impersonation, online gambling, and fraudulent advertising. The commission asserts that these types of content could harm societal harmony and threaten consumer safety.
Meta has reportedly been slow to respond to these concerns, prompting Malaysian authorities to consider legal avenues to encourage greater cybersecurity accountability and consumer protection.
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Despite the MCMC’s repeated requests for Meta to address the issue, the tech giant is said to have failed to take sufficient action to manage these ‘undesirable’ contents. This lack of cooperation has led to increasing public concern and scrutiny. Consequently, the MCMC feels it has no choice but to take definitive steps or legal action against Meta to ensure people’s security and protection in the digital sphere.
This recent action from Malaysia reflects a broader global issue of governments grappling with how to handle and regulate the ever-increasing influence of social media on society. Tech giants such as Meta, Google’s YouTube, and TikTok often face regulatory scrutiny over the content posted on their platforms. Many governments, particularly in Southeast Asia, frequently request that controversial content be taken down.
In 2020, Vietnam threatened to shut down Facebook if it did not bow to government pressure to censor local political content on its platform. Similarly, in Indonesia, Facebook was compelled in 2019 to remove hundreds of local accounts, pages, and groups linked to a fake news syndicate.
However, it remains to be seen how the legal conflict between Malaysia and Meta will unfold, and what implications this might have on freedom of expression, digital rights, and global tech regulations.
