TikTok, Meta, Twitter cooperating on sensitive posts: Comms and Digital Ministry

KUALA LUMPUR - The Communications and Digital Ministry has obtained the cooperation of social media platforms such as TikTok and Meta to deal with content that can be offensive to local sensitivities.

The ministry in a parliamentary written reply said that TikTok has agreed to suspend and blacklist accounts that violate the platform’s community guidelines.

“If there is a need based on strong justification, the account will be reported to the authorities,” the ministry said about TikTok in its reply to Wong Chen (Subang-PH) who asked about measures taken to combat hate speech on social media.

As for Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, the ministry said Meta will take down content and freeze accounts that violate its rules.

While for Twitter, the platform will cooperate with the ministry to ensure that Malaysia’s rules and laws are complied with in posts that touch on the “3Rs” (royalty, religion and race).

The ministry said it had held these discussions with TikTok on December 5 and January 12, with Meta on January 12 and with Twitter on February 15.

The ministry said gaining the cooperation of these social media providers is part of its “comprehensive framework” to prevent hate speech.

Other measures in its framework include a committee of police representatives and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) officials to share information, especially on social media posts that insult the 3Rs.

Various advocacy and education programmes are also held to promote responsible use of social media, including public service announcements broadcast on all television stations urging people to stop sharing sensitive content.

Wong also asked how the ministry involved various stakeholders to determine the meaning of hate speech since Malaysia has a multiracial population.

The ministry replied that MCMC has published a content code that outlines best practices and ethical standards for the creation and curation of content. This code is to be used by industry players as well as personal social media users.

Hate speech is defined in this code as “images (in the form of words, speech, pictures and others) that degrade, slander or bring down the dignity of a person or group based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation or disability, is prohibited”.

Descriptions of any of the above groups or their members using harsh, abusive language, explicit sexual references or obscene gestures are also considered hate speech, the ministry said. – The Vibes, March 17, 2023