COMMUNICATIONS Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said social media platforms should join the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) to ensure more ethical content.
He said social media providers were raking in billions of ringgit in advertisements earnings and must be responsible for the content shared on their platforms.
He stressed that CMCF was industry-led and it was in their interest to develop best practices for the industry.
“So far, only TikTok was a member of the CMCF, while Facebook, Instagram and X were not despite many invitations
“We must make sure these platforms join Content Forum, so that they need to be aware of the impact they have on Malaysian society,” he said.
He said these social media platforms cannot wash their hands of content that could also create online harm, particularly related to suicide.
"I applaud TikTok's approach, but Facebook, Instagram and X are far from satisfactory.
"I will communicate with them. It is in their own interest to help develop certain best practices and codes of conduct," he told reporters at the Suicide Content Guidelines launch today.
Fahmi said the problem of social media platforms not collaborating with the authorities were also experienced by other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Asean despite various laws pun in place.
"Many of these social media platforms think they are above the laws of countries in the Southeast Asian region, or even the Asia-Pacific. So, this is not merely a legal issue. It is also about the attitude of these platforms.
"One could say they are profit driven. When it comes to making money, they move very fast, but when it comes to complying with the laws, they are extremely slow," he said.
Fahmi also called on vernacular media to support suicide prevention efforts, saying that mental health resources should be made available in all major languages.
“We need to reach out to the vernacular press. A lot of the content is in English, but our efforts must be understood in all languages,” he added. – June 3, 2025
