MELAKA: The government is disappointed with Meta’s failure to effectively curb and remove fake social media accounts impersonating as part of royal families on its platforms, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said the matter had been raised several times with the technology giant, but the action taken thus far remained unsatisfactory.
He said the government was now studying possible legal action against social media platforms that failed to address the issue, including through the Online Safety Act (ONSA).
"I have issued several warnings to Meta, but they appear to show little respect for the Malay Rulers and I am very disappointed.
"They must understand that the royal institution in this country is extremely important, enshrined in the Federal Constitution and must be respected, including by international platforms such as Facebook,” he told reporters after attending the Hang Tuah Jaya Parliamentary SPM 2025 Excellent Students Awards ceremony at a resort in Ayer Keroh here on Saturday (May 9).
The event was opened by Deputy Higher Education Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim, who is also Hang Tuah Jaya MP.
Fahmi was commenting on the discovery of 15,296 fake accounts using the identities of 26 royal family members between January and April this year, based on monitoring by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and public complaints.
Elaborating further, he said the Act was expected to be fully enforced in the near future once several related codes had been gazetted.
"We will study several measures, including legal action against platforms that continue to fail in curbing the existence of fake accounts, especially those involving the Malay Rulers,” he said.
Fahmi added that penalties under ONSA could include fines of up to RM1mil and a daily fine of RM100,000, with heavier penalties reaching RM10mil depending on the offence committed.
Meanwhile, he said the ministry was also alarmed by the high volume of online gambling and scam-related material detected on social media platforms.
He said more than 230,000 online gambling and scam-related posts had been taken down by the MCMC between Jan 1 and May 6.
Fahmi stressed that social media platforms must work more closely with the government to ensure the safety and protection of users, particularly Malaysians.
