Is Malaysia serious when asking social media platforms to get a licence or risk getting banned?

Malaysia introduced on August 1 a new regulatory framework for all social media and internet messaging platforms with at least eight million registered users in the country to comply with. Enforcement under the new class licence will begin from January 1 next year, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said in a statement. This is expected to affect popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok and Telegram.

The move, however, has sparked debate in Malaysia.

Although the government said this measure will create a safer online ecosystem and a better user experience, especially for children and families, some civil society organisations say it is too heavy-handed and risks stifling freedom of speech and the freedom to criticise the government.

The arguments

The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission declared that the move is in line with the Malaysian Cabinet’s decision that social media platforms and internet messaging services must comply with local laws to combat a rise in cybercrime offences. These include scams and online fraud, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes against children.

Failure to obtain a licence after the effective date would be an offence, and appropriate legal action can be taken under the Communications and Multimedia Act.

In March, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching told parliament that MCMC was finalising a licensing framework for social media platforms operating in Malaysia.

The recent case of a Malaysian TikTok influencer who died by suicide in a cyberbullying incident had also sparked anger in a nation where people use a large number of social media platforms.

A study of 10 Asian countries by creative agency We Are Social showed people in Malaysia aged 16 to 64 used an average of almost eight social media platforms, second only to the Philippines and ahead of countries like Indonesia, India, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The new class licensing regime will add to Malaysia’s legislative firepower to ensure the internet is safer for children and families. Social media platforms’ response to government take-down requests – largely on content like online scams and gambling – has been good but largely has not been sufficient. Meta-run platforms Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp have a compliance rate of 79% to 88%, while TikTok and X are at 76% and 25% respectively.

MCMC said in its statement that the new regulatory framework only applies to services that meet the licensing eligibility criteria and does not involve its users.

MCMC has said that failure to obtain a licence from January 1, 2025, would be an offence, and that it could take “appropriate legal action”.

While the full licensing framework is still not clear, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told media that the government will ban any platforms that refuse to comply.

The new licensing regime could force social media platforms to decide if they will have different implementations for different countries or standardise everything to avoid infringing these regulations. Specialists cited the example of the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a legal framework that imposes data privacy obligations on organisations anywhere, as long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU. The GDPR, despite only applying to EU citizens, is considered to be an international regulation simply because companies find it too difficult or impossible to isolate between users and just agreed that this would be the global standard.

Activists say the government can abuse the new regulations to stifle freedom of expression, saying that the exact wording of the licensing requirements should be scrutinised in the coming months.

Malaysia’s Centre for Independent Journalism said they were “deeply concerned” about the upcoming licensing regime. They say this development is seen as a direct attempt to exert control over social media platforms, which could have far-reaching implications for freedom of expression, as guaranteed in the Federal Constitution in Malaysia. The regulation can have disastrous consequences for public debate, right to information, creativity, positive cultural and social growth and the free flow of information, as well as political critique and opinion.

It’s not the first time when Malaysia initiates regulations that were controversial. In March 2018, then-prime minister Najib Razak and his ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government introduced a controversial Anti-Fake News Act that set out fines of up to RM500,000 and a maximum of six years’ jail for anything the government defined as “fake news”. The move was condemned by the opposition and political activists who feared it would be used to muzzle opinion that BN disagreed with.

The opposition made scrapping the law a key electoral promise in that year’s election that was held in May. After claiming a surprise victory, the newly-installed administration repealed the law in August 2018.

The government assured that the licensing regime will not curb freedom of speech in Malaysia, but instead tackle the spread of crime and harmful information online. It is also crucial to ensure control over emerging elements such as artificial intelligence (AI) and, more concerning, generative AI that can produce misleading information or content used for malicious purposes. Also, cybercrimes such as cyberbullying should be dealt to prevent more people from becoming victims.

The facts

Malaysia is not the only Asian country that wants to regulate the social media platforms. Singapore’s Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) allows the government to compel social media platforms to post a correction on or stop publication of what it deems as falsehoods.

It can also use the Online Criminal Harms Act to issue codes of practice to require social media platforms to implement systems, processes or measures to counter the commission of offences like online scams.

Indonesia has required tech companies to register under licensing rules that allow authorities to take down content on social media sites or applications that can disrupt public order. The regulations, introduced in 2020, requires these companies including social media platforms to take down such content within four hours if urgent, or 24 hours for other requests.