KUALA LUMPUR: Crimes persist on social media because they lack regulation, says Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communication Minister said that almost all social media and messaging platforms have an age requirement, but almost none of them are enforcing it.
Fahmi also said that the government has no intention of shutting down any social media platforms.
“That sends the wrong message. That is not our intention,” he said while adding that social media has educated and improved the livelihoods of those who use it for a good purpose.
Fahmi said this during his winding-up speech on the 2025 Supply Bill in Parliament on Thursday (Nov 7).
He was responding to Syerleena Abdul Rashid (PH-Bukit Bendera), who suggested that Putrajaya should emulate Australia’s plans to legislate a ban on social media for children under 16.
Fahmi said that there had been groups with elements of paedophilia on Facebook with thousands of followers.
“The reality is that crime has migrated to social media, and it is the failure of social media platforms to be firm against these criminals. This is what we are worried about,” he added.
“When I met with Meta and brought up the issue, they came up with many excuses. They also don’t want to be licensed”, he said, adding that the company only started to act when confronted.
“That should not be the way. We are moving towards curation, not moderation,” he said.
He said social media platforms should regulate content that the government determined to be inappropriate.
Fahmi also said Putrajaya has no plans to allow social media platforms to self-regulate.
He said this may give companies the impunity to act as they please, citing that Meta had censored content regarding the ongoing conflict in Palestine.
“If we allow social media companies (to self-regulate), they will do as they please,” added Fahmi.
In August, Meta apologised to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for decreasing the number of posts on his Facebook and Instagram accounts regarding the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
