KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — The Communications Ministry, via the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), continues to take proactive measures and collaborate with platform service providers and enforcement agencies to monitor the spread of false information on social media.
Deputy minister Teo Nie Ching said 49,810 instances of false content, out of 58,266 requests submitted by MCMC, or 85 per cent, had been successfully taken down from January 2022 until November 30, based on complaints received and the community guidelines set by each platform.
“Continuous monitoring by MCMC allows early action to be taken to curb the spread of false information and political propaganda driven by social media algorithms,” she said in response to Senator Datuk Salehuddin Saidin's query in the Dewan Negara today.
Teo added that the MCMC also launched the Sebenarnya.my Chatbot or Artificial Intelligence Fact-check Assistant (Chatbot AIFA) on January 28 to help the public verify and obtain authentic information more easily and quickly.
In response to his supplementary query about efforts to counter slander and fake news directed at the government, she said the government faces difficulties because content removal falls under platform providers' jurisdiction.
“They will review the content to decide whether it is fake news and violates their community guidelines before it can be removed,” Teo said.
An estimated 15 per cent of cases could not be taken down because platform providers said they constituted freedom of expression and therefore declined to act.
“We ensure freedom of speech is protected; we still uphold the principle that the public has the right to criticise the government, but when it involves false news, it is wrong,” she said.
In response to Senator Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman's supplementary query about false AI-generated content on social media, Teo advised users to verify information before accepting any content as accurate.
