Govt has no power to ban TikTok accounts - minister

 

The government does not have the power to ban TikTok accounts, said Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

This comes as Kedah caretaker menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said Malaysia was becoming like North Korea after his TikTok account was deleted.

“Who does TikTok belong to? Bytedance Ltd which is a technology firm from China.

“For TikTok users, it is the same as any other social media platform, which is subjected to restrictions of what can or cannot be allowed.

“Does the government have the power to ban TikTok accounts? The answer is no,” Saifuddin (above, right) said on Facebook today.

The home minister pointed out that if many users lodged complaints against a specific account, TikTok would then ban the account.

As such, Saifuddin said it should be the public that caused Sanusi’s TikTok account to be deleted and not the government.

He added that he disagrees Malaysia is becoming like North Korea.

“Of course, I disagree because it was definitely not the government who did it, we have a lot of other work to do,” Saifuddin said.

MCMC: No directive from govt

The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has also responded to Sanusi’s allegations and confirmed that it has not received any directive from the government to remove his TikTok account.

In a statement, the MCMC clarified that social media platforms have the ability to automatically take action against users who violate their community guidelines.

These actions can be initiated based on the platforms' guidelines or in response to public complaints.

“Such community guidelines set expectations to promote inclusivity and to reduce harmful or offensive content that may disrupt harmony within the community,” it said. - Mkini