PUTRAJAYA: Social media platforms have been given time to align their internal mechanisms so that the process of automatically removing identified scam and online gambling content can be implemented, says Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.
The government spokesperson said this step is crucial to ensure platforms comply with online safety regulations, including the Child Protection Code (CPC) and Risk Mitigation Code (RMC) issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) under the Online Safety Act.
“We have already given them time. These two codes will be used to ensure platforms comply with online safety rules, including those related to scam and gambling content,” said Fahmi during the weekly post-Cabinet press conference on Wednesday (Aug 5).
He noted that the need to accelerate automation has also become more pressing as MCMC’s takedown requests for scam and gambling content have already exceeded last year’s figures.
“It cannot be denied that the number of takedown requests made by MCMC to platforms, specifically concerning online gambling and scam content, has surpassed what was requested last year,” he said.
He added that the increase in requests has implications for MCMC’s manpower and resources, since each takedown requires about 30 minutes to process.
“Hence, the volume of requests means MCMC staff are spending excessive time filing all the necessary documents,” he said.
Fahmi, who is also the Communications Minister, stressed that the situation is worrying because much of the detected gambling and scam content is repetitive, often using similar images, videos and wording.
