Morning commuters rush past the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms Inc, in Mountain View, California, USA. The picture was taken on November 9, 2022.
In a significant move, Malaysia announced on Friday that it plans to take legal action against Meta Platforms, holding the parent company of Facebook accountable for its failure to remove “undesirable” posts. This marks the strongest action taken by the country to address problematic content. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration has been committed to addressing sensitive topics related to race and religion, particularly after the closely contested election in November, which sparked ethnic tensions.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission stated that Facebook has been overwhelmed by a large volume of undesirable content relating to various issues, including race, royalty, religion, defamation, impersonation, online gambling, and scam advertisements. Despite repeated requests, Meta has not taken sufficient action, leading Malaysia to believe that legal measures are necessary to promote cybersecurity accountability and protect consumers. Meta Platforms has yet to respond to the situation.
When asked about the nature of the legal action, the commission revealed that under Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, allowing network facilities or application services to be abused can be considered offenses. It also mentioned that company officials can be charged if they are found to have willfully provided means and aided criminal activity by failing to respond promptly.
Race and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, which has a majority of Muslim ethnic Malays along with significant ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. Criticism of the country’s revered royals is also a contentious subject that can lead to charges under sedition laws. This action against Facebook comes just weeks before elections in six states, which will showcase a battle between Anwar’s multi-ethnic coalition and a conservative Malay Muslim alliance. With an estimated 60% of Malaysia’s population having a registered account on the platform, Facebook is the country’s largest social media platform.
Globally, social media giants like Meta, Google’s YouTube, and TikTok often face regulatory scrutiny due to the content posted on their platforms. Southeast Asian governments frequently request the takedown of specific content. In Vietnam, for instance, the government threatened to shut down Facebook in the country unless it agreed to censor more local political content. In Indonesia, Facebook took down numerous accounts, pages, and groups linked to a fake news syndicate in 2019.
As Malaysia takes this strong stance against Meta Platforms, it emphasizes the growing importance of online content moderation and the responsibility of social media companies to ensure the removal of undesirable content.
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