Community resilience should be strengthened through digital literacy programmes in schools, social events, and public education campaigns. — Freepik
TECH giants like Meta (owner of Facebook) and ByteDance (owner of TikTok) must refine their content moderation policies to address Malaysia’s unique sociopolitical landscape, where historical events have been exploited to incite divisions.
Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence’s (Initiate.My) founder Aizat Shamsuddin says this is especially urgent on the heels of Meta’s recent broadening of its free speech policy on its platforms.
He says, for example, specific historical references such as the May 13, 1969, race riots have been used to incite hate and violence online.
“Companies like Meta and ByteDance must take greater responsibility for the content on their platforms.
“Meta’s recent broadening of its free speech policies, especially in political discourse, has raised concerns about the effectiveness of its content moderation policies.
“These companies must refine their community standards to address context-specific risks, particularly in a multiracial, multi-religious society like Malaysia.”
It was reported that Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said the company would simplify content policies, especially on immigration and gender, “which has become an important topic in many countries, including the United States”.
He also said filters will only function on high-level violations – “the social network will continue to take seriously the threat of drugs, terrorism, and child exploitation.
Aizat urges local government agencies and civil society to actively engage with tech companies to ensure platform policies are effective in preventing harm and safeguarding online users.
“Content moderation policies should be tailored to local contexts, ensuring they appropriately identify and mitigate harmful narratives that threaten social stability.”
He also points out that a balanced approach in combining non-punitive preventive measures and corporate accountability remains crucial to combat online hate and misinformation.
“While legal enforcement is necessary for severe cases, non-punitive approaches must also be prioritised.”
Aizat stresses that community resilience should be strengthened through digital literacy programmes in schools, social events, and public education campaigns.
“People must be equipped to recognise and reject hate and violent narratives online, differentiate between credible information and misinformation, and protect themselves against digital manipulation.”
