KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — The top management of TikTok has been summoned to Bukit Aman on Thursday following delays by the company in cooperating with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to address the spread of fake news on the platform, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the issue included a recent viral post involving an individual who claimed to be a pathologist in the case of Sabah teenager Zara Qairina Mahathir’s death.
“TikTok was very slow in providing information to PDRM, to the point that I had to call TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to inform him, ‘this is a crime that’s being committed and your organisation is very slow’.
“We cannot allow such an attitude, and God willing, there will be a meeting at Bukit Aman attended by Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail and Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki,” he told reporters after the AI Grand Prix Conference 2025 at the Tun Abdul Razak Broadcasting and Information Institute (IPPTAR) here today.
The programme, organised by IPPTAR’s Creative Industry Cluster, was also attended by IPPTAR director-general Roslan Ariffin and broadcasting director-general Datuk Suhaimi Sulaiman.
Fahmi added that Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Facebook, will also be summoned to explain the spread of immoral content on its platform.
He said among the issues identified was the dissemination of paedophilic content detected under Op Pedo, involving an online group called “Geng Budak Sekolah”, which had gone viral on WhatsApp and Facebook.
“We see these platforms are not taking the matter seriously, so the dialogue will continue, and we will stress that Malaysian laws apply to them and they must comply. We will summon every platform,” he said.
Meanwhile, during a special dialogue titled “Let’s Talk AI Revolution” at the AI Grand Prix Conference 2025, Fahmi said the government is looking into the need to make identity verification mandatory for sales transactions on social media platforms.
He said the move aims to curb misuse of fake accounts often linked to fraud, online gambling ads and deepfake content.
“Many crimes on social media are carried out by perpetrators hiding behind fake accounts. Many are deepfake accounts, gambling ads, scams and paedophilia — all fake accounts.
“I see there may be a need for the government to adopt a policy that if you want to sell goods online, there must be identity verification on the platform. If you want to place an ad on Facebook, there must be real details — something Facebook has refused to do,” he said, adding that Singapore has already implemented such a measure.
Separately, Fahmi said the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Safe and Responsible Use of Social Media Platforms for Asean will be formally adopted at the 47th Asean Summit next month.
The dialogue, moderated by Astro Awani senior assistant vice-president and executive editor Hafidah Samat, also featured Capital A Bhd chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
The two-day AI Grand Prix Conference 2025, organised by IPPTAR, began today, bringing together academics, industry experts, creative practitioners and policymakers to discuss in depth the role of AI in shaping the nation’s communication, media and digital leadership landscape.
With the theme “Driving Intelligence to Lead the Future”, the conference serves as a knowledge-sharing platform and a bridge for cooperation between the government, private sector and civil society to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in the era of digital transformation.
