Malaysia to take legal action against Meta for failing to remove ‘undesirable content’ from Facebook

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on Friday (Jun 23) announced that it will take legal action against Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc for failing to remove “undesirable content” from the platform.

“As there is no sufficient cooperation from Meta, MCMC has no option but to take definitive steps or legal action against Meta as a measure to ensure that people are secure and protected in the digital sphere. 

“The action is necessary in promoting accountability for cybersecurity and enhancing consumer protection against online harms, including fraudulent activities and scams,” said MCMC’s corporate communications department in a statement. 

According to MCMC, Facebook has been “plagued by a significant volume of undesirable content” to do with defamation, impersonation, online gambling, scam advertisements and aspects of race, religion and royalty – popularly known as 3R. 

It added that Meta has not fully cooperated with its request to remove such content and has failed to take sufficient action to address the issue. 

“Meta’s response, which has been sluggish and unsatisfactory, has not met the urgency of the matter and has led to increasing public concern and scrutiny,” according to the statement. 

The regulator added that it is intolerant towards any abuse of online platforms and telecommunications, network or online facilities for malicious cyber activities, phishing activities, or any content that threatens racial stability, social harmony and defies respect for the Rulers. 

According to the Malay Mail, Meta said in a report in 2022 that it had identified and removed over 600 accounts linked to the Royal Malaysian Police across all its social network platforms for violating the policy against “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”. 

Most of the accounts were alleged to be part of a “troll farm” to corrupt or manipulate public discourse using fake accounts.

Meta reportedly claimed in its Quarterly Adversarial Threat report that this network of fake accounts posted memes in Malay in support of the then-Perikatan Nasional administration. The accounts also attempted to paint its critics as corrupt, in addition to promoting the police force, according to the Malay Mail.