KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — A special task force will be established next week to discuss aspects of social media regulation and enforcement, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the task force would include the Communications Ministry, the Home Affairs Ministry, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department, and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Fahmi said this decision was made after a meeting between Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Salim Fateh Din three days ago.
“The police require MCMC’s technical assistance for data preservation and profiling, so we will establish this special task force in the coming days to thoroughly understand issues faced by deputy public prosecutors.
“For instance, the issue of deepfakes, which are relatively new and may require cooperation to understand the evidence, gather sufficient data, and bring it to court,” he said after visiting and handing over personal donations to P.R. Puspa, mother of late social media influencer A. Rajeswary, or Esha, at her home in Bandar Baru Ampang here today.
Fahmi added that addressing prosecution aspects is crucial to avoid issues like in Esha’s case, where an accused was set free with an RM100 fine.
Esha was found dead in a Setapak condominium unit here on July 5, a day after lodging a police report regarding the cyberbullying she was facing.
To tackle cyberbullying, Fahmi said the ministry, particularly MCMC, is working to ensure that licensing for social media platforms is implemented smoothly by January 1.
“We observe that those involved in cyberbullying often use fake accounts, and we aim to reduce or eliminate these fake accounts .
“Following my meeting with representatives from X, Meta, TikTok, and WeChat in Singapore recently, they have expressed their willingness to be licensed. We are currently reviewing guidelines, and from August 1 until the end of the year, MCMC will meet with all stakeholders, including social media platforms, to develop a code of conduct and standards for social media platforms,” he said.
Fahmi hopes that with licensing, social media platforms will have a duty of care and be more responsible, and take action in cases of cyberbullying, extremism, and illegal activities such as drug trafficking and online gambling.
— Bernama
