KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 8,540 pieces of content related to race, religion and royalty (3R) were taken down by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) between 2022 and April this year, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
National Unity Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang said the content was removed in cooperation with social media platform operators.
He also said the government adopts a whole-of-government approach through strategic cooperation across ministries and agencies, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and address issues that could potentially undermine racial harmony at an early stage.
“This includes monitoring, screening and detecting sensitive content relating to race, religion and royalty (3R), allowing preventive action to be taken before such issues spread and trigger tensions within society,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Oct 29).
He said the ministry also worked closely with social media influencers to promote messages of unity.
Aaron was responding to V. Sivakumar (PH-Batu Gajah), who asked how the government was using AI to address issues affecting national unity.
He added that the Communications Ministry, through MCMC, also used AI to analyse sentiment and monitor social media trends, including on platforms popular among young people such as TikTok, X, Threads and Instagram.
“AI is also used to detect digitally manipulated content, including deepfakes in video, audio and image formats, that could spread false information or trigger racial discord.
“In terms of enforcement, action against the misuse of AI to disseminate unlawful online content may be considered under existing legal provisions, including Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“The Online Safety Act 2025 also strengthens the online safety framework by imposing specific obligations on service providers, including measures to prevent and manage harmful online content, in line with the scope and requirements of the law,” he said.
