Malaysia Urges Meta to Rein in Illegal Online Content or Else

The country’s top officials have urged Meta, which controls Facebook and Instagram, to begin cracking down on illegal gambling - so far, these requests have been heedless Image Source: Shutterstock.com

Malaysia‘scommunications minister, Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, has called on Meta to respect local laws and ensure that illegal online gambling content is not displayed on its platforms.

The comments come after a meeting between the minister and representatives of the platform, along with various law enforcement and regulatory agencies, among which were the Royal Malaysian Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, Commercial Crimes Investigation Department, Attorney General’s Chambers, Home Ministry, Finance Ministry, National Financial Crime Prevention Centre, and the National Cyber Security Agency.

Malaysia Puts Pressure on Meta to Stem Tide of Illegal Gambling Content

Following the meeting, Fahmi explained that despite a show of goodwill, Meta had failed to eliminate the threat that authorities feared and urged more measures. Failing to comply, Meta will face more regulatory pressure in the country.

Fahmi clarified that 168,774 content ngakedown requestshave been placed with Facebook alone and represented 59% of all content ngakedown requests filed with the company concerning its social media services.

Out of these, 120,127 were linked to illegal gambling, but drilling down into the details further, Fahmi argued that only 114,665 pieces of content were removed in the end. The meeting also concerned other forms of content, including scam messages and the sale of prohibited goods, such as drug-laced vaping devices.

Meta Shows Strong Collaboration, But Deficiencies Still Present

Fahmi has not hesitated to outline a further course of action that would involve tougher measures should Meta fail to collaborate:

“The Ministry of Communications, in collaboration with enforcement agencies, will step up monitoring efforts and consider further action if Meta fails to improve its cooperation.”

Meta is facing similar requests all over Southeast Asia, as well as in other geographies. Countries such as Italy have worked closely and have held social media platform providers, including Meta, responsible for illegal gambling content that appears to users locally.