GEORGE TOWN, July 28 — Licensing under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 is to hold all social media platform providers accountable, tighten standard operating procedures, and curb cybercrime, said Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
She said this measure is essential especially to curb sexual cybercrime against children and online fraud in Malaysia, which have become increasingly alarming.
She noted that there were 360 cases of sexual crimes involving children on social media in 2022, which rose to 525 in 2023, and 288 from January to June this year.
“In terms of online fraud, the losses amounted to RM453 million in 2022, rising to RM1.2 billion last year, and from January to June this year, the police recorded losses of RM637 million.
“We do not want to see many Malaysians falling victim to online scams. It is a very serious challenge,” she told reporters after visiting the National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) in Pengkalan Kota here today.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced yesterday all social media and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in the country must apply for a Class Licence for Application Service Providers under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
This measure is effective January 1, 2025, after the introduction of a new regulatory framework for social media and internet messaging services from August 1.
Teo said the proposal was approved by the Cabinet earlier this year but the Communications Ministry spent several months conducting engagement sessions with social media platform providers before making the announcement yesterday.
She said this is not a regulation unique to Malaysia, as similar policies are practised in other countries, including Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Refuting claims that MCMC’s step would restrict freedom of speech, she clarified that 50 per cent of MCMC’s requests to remove content on social media were related to gambling and online fraud, not just fake news.
Meanwhile, Teo announced the ministry aims to ensure the completion and operation of seven more NADIs in Penang before the end of this year, in line with its goal to develop 38 new NADIs under the initiative “1 State Constituency, 1 NADI”, adding to the three that existed before the initiative.
Overall, she said, there are 1,097 NADIs nationwide: 950 operational and 147 still in progress.
— Bernama
