KUALA LUMPUR: The Communications Ministry has acknowledged that it is difficult to identify individuals who operate fake accounts on social media, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said that as such it was crucial to make social media platform providers strengthen guidelines for users when opening new accounts, such as by requiring a valid phone number.
"If we don't make such efforts, it will be extremely difficult for us to identify who is behind the fake accounts.
"In addition, under the amendment (of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998) Act 588, we propose to introduce a new section to strengthen the existing enforcement powers.
"This is by empowering the police or certain officers to request certain data from social media platforms.
"We believe that with this section, if passed in the Dewan Rakyat, the police will have the power to request certain data from social media platforms regarding users of social media accounts," she said in response to Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar).
Afnan had inquired about the owners of fake accounts which were increasingly widespread and difficult to detect to the point that they could not be controlled.
Meanwhile, answering Afnan's question on the action to be taken against those who edited the video of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's interview with CNN, Teo said; "I think it is more appropriate for the police to answer that."
On Nov 15, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the CNN interview with Anwar, which addressed the Israel-Palestine conflict, was irresponsibly edited by certain parties.
He said the edited interview clip, now circulating on social media, created a false impression that the government had acknowledged Israel's existence and its right to self-defence.
Fahmi said only a specific portion of the interview was taken, manipulated and widely disseminated to misrepresent the government's stance on the matter.