PETALING JAYA: Meta should be billed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for doing the tech giant's job for them, says Fahmi Fadzil.
According to Astro Awani, the Communications Minister revealed that MCMC staff have been working around the clock since January to weed out scam and gambling advertisements on social media platforms owned by Meta.
"Lodging every report to Meta takes around 30 to 45mins, with MCMC staff spending a total of 22.2 years of man-hours between January and October 15, 2025.
“We should send Meta a bill for all the work we are doing on their behalf,” said the government spokesperson at a press conference here Friday (Nov 7).
Fahmi's comments come after a Reuters special report alleging that 10 per cent of Meta's revenue comes from advertising linked to illegal activities such as scams and online gambling.
Fahmi said the report was concerning as Meta was alleged to have profited from advertisements promoting activities that are illegal under Malaysian law.
"The Reuters report was quite detailed, providing figures based on what are believed to be Meta’s own internal documents.
"If true, this is very worrying as it suggests that part of Meta’s profits comes from illegal activities, including those prohibited in Malaysia,” he said at the same press conference, according to Bernama.
Fahmi said Meta has yet to provide a satisfactory response to the report, apart from saying that the figures cited were taken out of context.
"That’s not sufficient. I regret that the report was released yesterday… this shocking information will certainly be studied and will form the basis for us to summon Meta to provide a full explanation,” he said.
The Reuters report revealed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, projected that 10 per cent of its total revenue in 2024, about US$16bil, would come from advertisements related to scams and banned products.
According to the report, several previously unreported internal documents showed that the social media giant had failed to identify and stop ads exposing billions of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users to fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online gambling, and the sale of banned medical products.
On average, one document dated December 2024 stated that the company had circulated about 15 billion "higher-risk” ads showing clear signs of fraud to users on its platforms.
Commenting on the same issue, Fahmi said the government was dissatisfied with Meta’s takedown process for risky content, which he described as too slow.
Fahmi stressed that once the Online Safety Act comes into force, social media platforms will be required to ensure that harmful online activities such as scams and gambling are no longer accessible in Malaysia.
"If they fail to do so, legal action can be taken against them,” he added.- Bernama
