Social media platforms given time to automate scam and gambling content removal, says Fahmi

 The communications minister says platform operators have expressed readiness to comply with regulations.

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said the increase in takedown requests had strained MCMC’s resources and manpower. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Social media platform operators have been given time to align their internal mechanisms to enable the automatic removal of high-risk scam and online gambling content, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said today.

He said platform operators had expressed their readiness to comply with the child protection and risk mitigation codes under the Online Safety Act 2025 (Onsa).

“These two codes will ensure platforms comply with online safety regulations, including those covering scam and online gambling content.

“The platforms have indicated their willingness to comply, but require some time to align their internal mechanisms to automate the removal of identified content,” he was quoted by Bernama as saying.

Fahmi, who is also the government spokesman, said the number of takedown requests made by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), particularly for online gambling and scam-related content, had already exceeded last year’s total.

He said the increase in takedown requests had strained MCMC’s resources and manpower, adding that each request took about 30 minutes to process.

“Each piece of content requires about 30 minutes of work by MCMC personnel. The time needed to process so many requests has inevitably resulted in MCMC officers spending considerable time filing the required documentation,” he said. - FMT