The Communications Minister of Malaysia, Fahmi Fadzil, has publicly announced that the country’s communications regulator will issue warnings to Facebook parent company, Meta Platforms, and China-owned TikTok. The warnings are a response to allegations that both social media platforms have been restricting pro-Palestinian content.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Minister Fahmi Fadzil stated that he had instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to deliver a “stern warning” to both companies. He emphasized that if the issue continues to be ignored, he will not hesitate to take a firm approach. However, no specific details were provided regarding the actions that will be taken against the platforms.
As of now, there has been no response from Meta or TikTok regarding these allegations.
This is not the first time Minister Fahmi Fadzil has raised concerns about TikTok. Earlier this month, he criticized the company for its lack of compliance with Malaysian laws and urged them to do more in order to combat the spread of defamatory and misleading content. In response, TikTok committed to taking measures to address the minister’s concerns.
It remains to be seen how both Facebook and TikTok will react to the warnings issued by the Malaysian communications regulator. The outcome of this situation will likely have implications for the way social media platforms handle content related to geopolitical issues in the future.