Malaysia has announced its decision to pursue legal action against Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, for its failure to remove “undesirable” posts from its platform. The government aims to address provocative content related to race and religion, which has caused ethnic tensions in the country.
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 June 2023 – The Malaysian government today announced its intention to pursue legal action against Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, for its failure to remove “undesirable” posts from its platform.
This marks the strongest measure taken by Malaysia to address the issue of provocative content that touches on race and religion.
In the wake of the closely fought national election last year, ethnic tensions have been on the rise in Malaysia. Since assuming office in November, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration has been committed to curbing provocative posts that contribute to these tensions.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission stated that Facebook has been plagued by a significant volume of undesirable content related to race, royalty, religion, defamation, impersonation, online gambling, and scam advertisements.
Despite repeated requests, Meta has allegedly failed to take sufficient action to address this issue, necessitating legal action to promote cybersecurity accountability and consumer protection. Meta has yet to respond to the matter.
Race and religion are sensitive topics in Malaysia, with a majority of Muslim ethnic Malays alongside significant ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities. Criticism of the country’s revered royals is also a delicate matter that can lead to charges under sedition laws.
This action against Facebook comes just weeks before regional elections in six states, where Anwar’s multi-ethnic coalition is expected to face off against a conservative Malay Muslim alliance.
As Malaysia’s largest social media platform, Facebook has an estimated 60% of the country’s 33 million population registered on its platform.
Globally, major social media firms like Meta, Google’s YouTube, and TikTok have faced regulatory scrutiny regarding the content posted on their platforms. Several Southeast Asian governments have frequently requested the removal of specific content.
In 2020, Vietnam threatened to shut down Facebook in the country unless it complied with government pressure to censor more local political content.
Last year, social media platforms operating in Vietnam removed over 3,200 posts and videos in the first quarter alone for containing false information and violating the country’s laws.
Similarly, Facebook took down hundreds of local accounts, pages, and groups linked to a fake news syndicate in Indonesia in 2019. – source: reuters
