Online content creators shocked by requirement

Hue and cry: Lim points out that the social media world operates on immediacy and the ruling might hamper their creative process.

PETALING JAYA: Social media content creators were shocked to learn that they are now required to apply for a National Film Development Corporation (Finas) licence for their social media posts.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said yesterday that all film productions, regardless if they are from a mainstream media outlet or personal media, must apply for a Film Production Licence and Film Shooting Certificate (SPP) from Finas.

Jin Lim, who founded the one million subscriber-strong YouTube channel JinnyboyTV, said the move will slow the growth of social media content creators in Malaysia.

“Every day, someone gets on YouTube, goes viral and all of a sudden they have a career for themselves such as Sugu Pavithra, ”

“But if you require them to have a company with a start-up capital of RM50,000 in order to obtain a licence, not everyone has that kind of money. This will deter so many people who want to turn on a camera and film something.”

Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil highlighted to the media yesterday that in order to acquire a Finas licence, an applicant would require a paid-up capital of RM50,000.

Another requirement is that after obtaining the licence, each time a social media content creator wants to film, they will need to inform Finas at least seven days before the shooting date.

Lim pointed out that the social media world operates on immediacy and the ruling might hamper their creative process.

“Every now and then there are trends sweeping over social media like the Harlem Shake or Gangnam Style dance trend. Does that mean we will have to apply seven days before to do that challenge? And by the time we do apply, the trend will be gone.”

Lim is also concerned about whether their freedom of expression will be curtailed. “It feels like it’s going in the direction of ‘’we’re going to regulate everything that goes up on your platform.’ It’s as if we don’t have a choice and a voice.”

When contacted, CEO of Finas Ahmad Idham said it will issue a formal statement on this matter soon.

Meanwhile, other social media content creators questioned the feasibility of enforcing the ruling.

Hidzham Hanif, the manager for the six-men video crew Sterk Production, a fully independent video production with nearly 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, said: “This is my personal view, not of the company. We do seven to eight videos a day, can the government process our licence applications for the videos as soon as we put in the application?

“If the government is able to process the application forms as fast as that, then yes, maybe this is okay. But, this is just one company we’re talking about. What happens when there are many applications they have to process in a day.

“We might just end up sitting around (not putting up any new videos) until we get the approval.”

Instead, YouTube content creator Dan Khoo said should the government feel the need to regulate content online, it would have to be done on a case-by-case basis, especially if the content brought harm, stoked racism or negativity.

“If put into effect, eventually you will see a drain of creative content in Malaysia, ” said Khoo who has over 455,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel and 47,000 followers on Instagram.

“If the government wants to regulate content due to that Al-jazeera incident, it is probably fair to do especially if the content is deemed harmful to the public.

“But to regulate everything is impossible. They won’t have the manpower to keep up, ” added Khoo, who posts slice-of-life content on YouTube.

Based on the observation by The Star on the comments made on its Facebook page, many questioned the move, especially those who film and upload short videos into social media platforms like Facebook Live, Instagram and Tik Tok.

Reader Andy Ong questioned if people require a licence to film their own pets.

“How about filming our pets eating their food from their food bowl and drinking water from their water bottle? Please advise.”

Louis Phan noted that what Saifuddin said was merely a reply to a question during a parliamentary debate.

“There was no wrong answer given by the minister as according to the law.

“However, (Finas Act 1981) is an outdated law enacted since 1981 when cameras were yet to be installed into the mobile phone, ” he said.

Reader David Chan concurred with Phan, noting that the law has not updated and should be amended to meet the current times.