KUALA LUMPUR: Despite several issues raised by the government, such as scams and cyberbullying on TikTok, they have yet to take the matter seriously, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said he was of the view that the social media platform has not seriously addressed several matters of concern despite promising to do so.
“I am very displeased with their behaviour in addressing several issues that we had raised before.
“For example, when the cyberbullying of Rajeswary Appahu, also known as Esha, occurred, they promised that moderators monitoring content, including TikTok live, would be increased.
“However, during this meeting, they failed to state how many more moderators have been added to evaluate these types of content in Tamil. We have asked for figures, but they have failed to deliver.
“Failure to address this issue can lead to legal action, and I leave it to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to determine what actions can be taken,” he said at a press conference after a meeting yesterday at Bukit Aman with TikTok officials and the authorities.
Calling for action: Fahmi speaking at a press conference at Bukit Aman. With him is Criminal Investigation Department director Comm Datuk M. Kumar. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star
He also said that many Malaysians under the age of 13 are still able to open accounts on the platform, which is against its own guidelines.
“It still happens. I have seen children as young as Year One with accounts,” he said.
The minister said that there must be an age verification mechanism on the platform as practised by other countries, noting Singapore’s implementation as a method to be studied.
“It is clear that whatever mechanism is used now is not sufficient. It has failed,” he said.
When asked if a ban of the platform will be considered if it refuses to comply, he said that there will be no ban, as the government has no wish to curb the right of expression.
“There are benefits from the people using this technology, but at the same time, there are things that we are worried about, such as paedophilia.
“I’m giving them time to assess the request and issues raised by the Criminal Investigations Department, the Commercial Crimes Investigations Department and the MCMC,” he said, adding that similar meetings will be conducted with Meta and X as each has its own set of issues.
He also said that from October onwards, the Online Safety Act (ONSA) 2024 will be enforced.
“ONSA will be used against the platform itself. If the decision by the online safety committee determines that something such as deepfakes is an offence, all licensed platforms must restrict such content online,” he added.
According to statistics from the ministry, the platform had taken down 76,002 fake news content between Jan 1 and Aug 31.
“That means this is an 86% takedown rate and these takedowns are done based on their guidelines,” he said.
