KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Social media service providers have removed a total of 1,443 offensive and extreme content involving children across various digital platforms between January 1, 2022, and July 15 this year, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The content was removed for violating the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, as well as the community guidelines set by the respective platform providers.
Fahmi was responding to Tumpat MP Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi's query during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today on the regulatory measures that have been or will be implemented to ensure platform algorithms, like those on YouTube, do not continue to promote anomalous, toxic, and cognitively harmful content or 'brain rot' content, especially to children and teenagers.
He added that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is conducting ongoing engagement sessions with platform providers, including YouTube and TikTok, to ensure their algorithms are more transparent and aligned with local regulations.
“This includes the need to limit users’ exposure to content that is harmful or contains negative elements,” Fahmi said.
Effective January 1 this year, internet messaging and social media providers that meet licensing criteria are required to apply for a class licence for application service providers, as part of measures to regulate content and promote more responsible algorithm management.
He said the Code of Conduct issued by MCMC also imposes measures such as age verification, effective parental control, child safety features, and regular content audits.
Similarly, the Safe Internet Campaign, launched early this year, is being actively implemented in schools and higher learning institutions, with over 60,000 students having participated to date.
“For now, the campaign will be carried out at 10,000 schools, higher learning and teacher training institutes through various engagement initiatives and collaborations with student representative councils at public universities nationwide,” Fahmi said.
— Bernama
