Meta to face the music in Malaysia over Facebook’s ‘undesirable content’

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Malaysia said Friday it has been left with no choice but to make a legal move against social media giant Facebook as it failed to comply with its demands over “undesirable content.”

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said in a statement that Kuala Lumpur reached out to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to “have harmful content removed from its platform.”

The harmful content, according to the commission, relates to the aspects of Race, Royalty, Religion (3R), defamation, impersonation, online gambling as well as scam advertisements.

“Despite repeated requests, Meta has failed to take sufficient action to address the issue of undesirable contents on its platform and has not fully cooperated with efforts to remove such contents,” said the commission.

“Meta’s response, which has been sluggish and unsatisfactory, has not met the urgency of the matter and has led to increasing public concern and scrutiny,” said the commission.

Accusing Meta of “no sufficient cooperation,” the commission said it “has no option but to take definitive steps or legal action against Meta as a measure to ensure that people are secure and protected in the digital sphere.”

“The action is necessary for promoting accountability for cybersecurity and enhancing consumer protection against online harms, including fraudulent activities and scams,” it said.

The continuous and escalating online abuse “threatens racial stability, social harmony and defies respect for the rulers,” it said.