‘Removing govt-critical content not a must’

Photo: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Social media platform providers are not bound to “take orders” to remove contents deemed critical of the government, says Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

“If there is a report, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will forward a request to platform providers such as Facebook, TikTok, X or others.

“But in the end, it is up to them to decide if they agree with the views of MCMC or the government.

“If a piece of content is taken down, it means the platform providers agree with the judgment and views of the government,” she said in a reply to a supplementary question from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muda-Muar) at the Dewan Rakyat.

Earlier, Syed Saddiq had taken a swipe at the government, claiming that it had blocked or removed content on social media platforms critical of the administration.

“In 2022, a total of 96 pieces of content critical of the government were taken down, whereas over 4,000 were removed in 2023. This is a 40-fold increase,” he said.

Earlier, to a question by Datuk Seri Doris Sophia Brodie (GPS-Sri Aman), Teo said swifter action was being taken to remove 3R issues (race, religion and royalty) and fake news from social media platforms to prevent these from going viral.