KUALA LUMPUR: The amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act will be tabled for the first reading on Monday, paving the way for social media platforms to be more proactive and accountable for online harms occurring on their platforms.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysia remains firm on the licensing requirements to stop social media platforms from profiting from fake accounts and pages.
Fahmi said the ministry would also meet with representatives from the social media platforms to brief them on the final draft of the code of conduct.
"I was contacted by a friend from Sarawak, who sent me a screenshot of what appeared to be a Facebook post about a scam allegedly uploaded by the Attorney General's Chambers.
"Interestingly, the name used, along with the content, gave the impression that the information was official and authentic from the Attorney General's Chambers, complete with the department's emblem.
"People could easily be deceived by it.
"This is precisely why we need to license these platforms—to ensure they take proactive action without needing to be advised. Instead of waiting for instructions, they should remove such content on their own.
"However, because they are indifferent or unwilling to act, fake pages like this remain active.
"If these pages are running advertisements, the money goes to Facebook.
"These are ads that deceive and scam Malaysians, yet Facebook profits from them," he said in his speech at the closing ceremony of the Communications Carnival, here, today.
He said Malaysia does not want Facebook to profit from illegal activities such as scams, calling for them to be licensed.
Speaking to reporters later, Fahmi said Malaysia had just published the final draft of the code of conduct, and had requested all platforms to be briefed in the first half of December.
"Secondly, on Monday, God willing, we will table the amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act in parliament.
"I have requested that social media platforms and internet messaging systems be briefed so they understand our intentions, the new laws that will be introduced through the amendments, and the crucial roles they will need to play," he said.
On Nov 10, Fahmi said social media platform providers have been given one month to respond to the code of conduct, after which they will be required to register with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for licensing purposes.
Once it is finalised by the end of this year, the code of conduct will be published, and all social media platform providers with more than eight million users in Malaysia will be required to register, he said.
He said failure to register within the specified period would result in serious consequences, including the possibility of fines.