"Social Media Is Both A Boon And A Bane For Malaysia" — Fahmi Fadzil
The government doesn't intend to block social media platforms through its licensing requirements.
The Malaysian government has no intention to block or ban social media platforms, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said
In an interview with Channel News Asia, Fahmi explained that the recently introduced licensing requirement on social media and messaging platforms is intended to curb cybercrimes that have become dangerously prevalent of late.
"Malaysia does not intend to block or ban any social media platform. We see, definitely, that there is value", he said, adding that the country has many social media users.
Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi warned that social media platforms that don't apply for licenses starting 1 August risk being banned.
Image via NSTP
Fahmi revealed that people in Malaysia use between 30 to 50GB of data per person per month
Much of this is because internet access here is affordable, which has contributed to the growth in social media users.
"Because of our very, one would say, cost-effective, if not cheap, data prices compared to others around the region, we have seen a marked increase in the amount data used by Malaysians, and people in Malaysia using somewhere upward from 30 to 50 gigabytes per person per month," he said.
Fahmi explained that as much as social media platforms are a boon for Malaysians to stay connected and run their businesses, it has also become a bane as many are now rife with fraud cases, online scams, cyberbullying, and adult content, especially paedophilia.
"When we look at the amount of crime that has migrated to cyberspace, largely on social media platforms, we can see that social media is both a boon and a bane," he added.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will begin enforcing social media licensing on 1 January 2025
Before this, the Communications and Multimedia (Licencing) (Exemption) Order 2000 exempted social media and online messaging platforms from being licensed.
Due to this, the Malaysian government had to regularly issue takedown requests to social media platforms. Fahmi said 76% to 77% of takedown requests were related to scams and online gambling.
With the new regulations, these platforms will have to comply with Malaysian laws to curb cybercrimes.
However, many critics have slammed the new regulations as an opportunity to stifle dissent.
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