KUALA LUMPUR – TikTok has removed a total of 8,071 posts over the last year after the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) flagged pieces of content breaching the platform’s community guidelines, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
In a written Parliamentary response to Lim Guan Eng (Bagan-PH), Fahmi said MCMC had worked alongside the social media giant to gain its commitment and cooperation to monitor and prevent the spread of content that was slanderous or that played up racial and extremist sentiments which affects racial and religious harmony.
The total number of postings removed was done between January 1, 2023, and February 15, 2024.
“In addition, enforcement actions have also been taken to control and curb the spread of (such) content through social media (platforms) – especially TikTok, based on legal provisions and based on complaints from the public and affected parties, without any element of bias.
“The Communications Ministry will continue to ensure action will be taken against any individual or party if they are found to have committed an offence under the law, regardless of their individual background or political ideology,” Fahmi said.
“As long as the users comply with ethics and legal provisions, no action will be taken on any account.”
Lim has asked the reasons behind the prevalence of TikTok videos that carried slanderous, racially-charged, or extremist videos that threatened public and religious harmony.
The DAP politician had also sought answers regarding action taken against the posts.
Earlier today, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said social media platforms do not take direct instructions from any government regarding the removal of content, but insist on self-regulating what users upload.
Answering supplementary questions from Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar-Independent) in Parliament, Teo said authorities can submit requests to remove content, but the platforms make their own decisions.
Pointing to Syed Saddiq’s status as a social media influencer with a high following on TikTok, Teo said he should be able to understand the procedures involved.
Syed Saddiq claimed authorities had removed content critical of the government from TikTok as a tactic to silence the people.
In response, Teo said Syed Saddiq’s claim was baseless, adding that there are requests from the government that have been rejected by the platforms involved. – February 27, 2024