KUALA LUMPUR – Tan Sri Annuar Musa is reminded of his silence over the revelations of police-run “troll farms” as the communication and multimedia minister spoke of the government’s offence strategy in tackling the country’s cybersecurity issues.
Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang has cautioned the minister against making “brave” statements on being proactive in addressing cyber crimes if he continues to act “dumb” about the “troll farms”.
“Does a police-ran troll farm come within the definition of what Annuar said in Melaka yesterday on the government taking ‘offensive, defensive and advocacy measures’ in tackling the country’s cybersecurity issues?
“Would Annuar give a report to Parliament on the issue when it resumes sitting on October 3?”
In a statement today, Lim has challenged Annuar to respond to the troll farm allegations after “thunderous silence” has plagued the issue for almost a month.
Annuar yesterday said the Communications and Multimedia Ministry has set up a task force to look at new certification aspects, primarily related to the law.
“The ministry will also review fine rates to commensurate with the offences, as well as provide a centre where scam victims can quickly refer to.”
On August 5, the Royal Malaysia Police was accused of running a troll farm that sought to promote the current government coalition and criticise its opponents.
In its Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report, Meta claimed that close to 1,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as Facebook groups and pages, were removed for violating the platform’s policy against coordinated inauthentic behaviour.
Meta defines such behaviour as the coordinated use of fake accounts to manipulate public debate for a strategic goal.
Additionally, the network was active across Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram and “posted memes in Malay in support of the current government coalition, with claims of corruption among its critics”.
The report also found that approximately US$6,000 (RM26,739) was spent on advertising on Facebook and Instagram. – The Vibes, September 2, 2022
