MCMC: 48 court charges filed over misuse of social media, including child porn

As of Sept 2020, MCMC has received 178 First Information Report related to social media abuse compared to 139 during the same period last year. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it has taken action against individuals for misusing social media with 48 court charges filed from January till September 2020, marking a 66% increase from last year.

Out of the 48 charges, 34 were listed as offences committed under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 – of these, 22 charges were for the act of sharing or spreading pornographic content, followed by offensive content with nine charges, while fake or false content recorded three charges.

Offensive content is described as “indecent, obscene, false, menacing or offensive in character with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harras any person”, according to an FAQ on online content problems by MCMC.

The remaining 14 charges were offences committed under the Penal code and Sexual Offenses Against Children Act 2017 as decided by the Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Attorney General’s Chamber based on the result of investigation.

According to MCMC, the offences include the possession of child pornography where the case is currently being tried in court.

MCMC added that offences were mostly conducted on Facebook and Twitter with 14 charges on each platform, followed by WhatsApp with 13 while Instagram and blogs recorded one charge each.

As of Sept 2020, MCMC said it has received 178 First Information Report related to social media abuse compared to 139 during the same period last year.

Any act of sharing or spreading fake, offensive and threatening content is an offence under the Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Upon conviction, offenders receive a fine of no more than RM50,000 or one year’s imprisonment or both.

MCMC stated that the increase in court charges shows its commitment towards tackling the issue of social media abuse among the public with the purpose of creating a safe and secure Internet environment.

Members of the public can assist authorities by filing complaints about social media abuse to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) or MCMC through [e-mail], WhatsApp at 016 220 6262 or the MCMC Complaints Portal.