KUALA LUMPUR: More than 8,000 pieces of hate speech content related to race, religion and royalty were removed from social media in the past three years, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said social media platform service providers removed the content between Jan 1, 2022 to Dec 31 last year, as they violated domestic laws and platform community guidelines.
The removals were also made following the submission of removal applications by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Fahmi also pointed out that the government has several regulatory approaches namely through the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) and the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866), among others.
“Any instances of extreme content or hate speech over foreign-based social media platforms can potentially impact community harmony, public safety and the country’s stability.
“All foreign social media platforms operating in Malaysia must also adhere to local laws and are responsible to remove extremist content whenever ordered to by authorities.
“The MCMC too, will continue carrying out monitoring and enforcement actions alongside holding engagements with platform providers, to ensure regulatory efforts do not impair freedom of speech,” he said in a written reply on Thursday (Feb 12).
According to Fahmi, the MCMC works closely with other enforcement agencies including the police, when applying for removing social media content, blocking web pages alongside technical support to hasten the investigation process for extremism and hate speech content.
Besides Act 588, Fahmi said there are other legal provisions that can be used when investigating case facts.
He also noted how Act 866 was drafted to improve online safety in Malaysia, while also imposing greater accountability on licensed service providers.
Fahmi said Act 866 came into force on Jan 1 this year together with several other subsidiary laws.
“Part of these subsidiary laws are currency being completed by the MCMC and expected to be enforced in the second quarter of this year,” he said.
He was responding to a question by Chong Zhemin (PH-Kampar) who asked about the government’s policy on regulating how foreign social media platforms in Malaysia manage extreme and hate speech content.
