KUALA LUMPUR: The government will ensure that social media platforms are firm in tackling cybercrime for a safer internet for everyone, especially children and families.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in his meeting with Meta Platforms Inc (Meta) yesterday, he reprimanded them for still failing to address paedophilia and child grooming, particularly on Facebook.
"Meta needs to be much more proactive in combating groups on its social media accounts that engage in such sexual criminal activities," he said in a statement today.
The meeting was also attended by ministry secretary-general Datuk Fauzi Md Isa, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Tan Sri Salim. They met with Meta Southeast Asia's public policy director Rafael Frankel.
Fahmi said apart from the issue of paedophilia and child grooming, his discussion with Meta centred around the readiness of all parties for the licensing of social media platforms and internet messaging systems starting Jan 1, 2025.
He said Meta expressed its views regarding the compliance requirements that need to be met to implement the conditions, including the code of conduct and the Online Safety Act.
"I reminded Meta that the government's intention in imposing this license is to address issues of crime migrating to social media, including scams, online gambling, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes against children.
"However, I committed to listening to the perspectives of all social media platforms, considering that the upcoming license will be a Class License," he said, adding that the license would apply to all platforms that meet the requirement, including those that have at least 8 million users.
Meta, he said, had agreed to provide feedback on the code of conduct draft published on Oct 22, and would hold further discussions with MCMC early next week to examine several aspects in more detail.
"I welcome Meta's willingness to continue collaborating on this licensing issue," Fahmi added.