PUTRAJAYA, Nov 7 —Tech giant Meta has been urged to provide a full explanation over a Reuters report alleging that 10 per cent of the Facebook parent’s revenue comes from advertising linked to illegal activities such as scams and online gambling.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the report is concerning as Meta was alleged to have profited from advertisements for activities that are illegal under Malaysian law.
“The Reuters report was quite detailed, providing figures based on what are believed to be Meta’s own internal documents.
“If true, this is very worrying as it suggests that part of Meta’s profits comes from illegal activities, including those prohibited in Malaysia,” he said at a post-Cabinet press conference today.
Fahmi, who is also Madani Government spokesman, said Meta has yet to provide a satisfactory response to the report, apart from saying the figures cited were taken out of context.
“That’s not sufficient… This shocking information will certainly be studied and will form the basis for us to summon Meta to provide a full explanation,” he said.
The Reuters report revealed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, projected that 10 per cent of its total revenue in 2024, about US$16 billion (RM66.8 billion), came from advertisements related to scams and banned products.
According to the report, several previously unreported internal documents showed that the social media giant had failed to identify and stop ads exposing billions of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users to fraudulent e-commerce and investment schemes, illegal online gambling, and the sale of banned medical products.
On average, one document dated December 2024 said the company had circulated about 15 billion “higher-risk” ads showing clear signs of fraud to users on its platforms.
Fahmi said the government is dissatisfied with the speed of Meta’s takedown process for risky content.
He said each request submitted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to remove high-risk content takes between 30 and 45 minutes to process.
He stressed that once the Online Safety Act comes into force, social media platforms will be required to ensure harmful online activities such as scams and gambling are no longer accessible in Malaysia.
“If they fail to do so, legal action can be taken against them,” Fahmi added.
