KUALA LUMPUR: Online platform providers TikTok and Meta have been urged to enhance their monitoring efforts following the increase in harmful content.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said based on the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) statistics, there has been an increase in harmful content on social media and over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
"For just the first three months of this year, a total of 51,638 cases have been referred to online platform providers for further action.
"This figure is higher compared to the 42,904 recorded cases throughout the previous year," he said after chairing a meeting with TikTok and Meta to ensure that the platform providers monitor content moderation more comprehensively and proactively.
This is a concerted effort by the MCMC along with various enforcement departments and agencies to address the dissemination of content touching on the sensitivities of race, religion, and royalty (3R).
Meanwhile, Fahmi said the platform providers were also urged to effectively address content related to the 3R by referring to platform guidelines and Malaysian laws.
He added that TikTok and Meta were called to curb coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) content and to monitor and take immediate action against harmful content such as scams and online gambling.
Fahmi said that among the other matters discussed were enhancements to online safety, particularly the implementation of age verification requiring a minimum of 13 years to access social media platforms.
"This is to ensure that children are not exposed to harmful content on social media.
"At the same time, there was a review of the effectiveness of algorithms driving artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities to detect 3R content, CIB, or any harmful content," he said.
The minister noted that TikTok and Meta have been required to provide improvement plans and strategies with comprehensive details, as agreed upon in the meeting.
