Malaysian authorities have summoned the leadership of TikTok and Meta after accusing both companies of failing to act quickly against harmful and misleading content spreading on their platforms.
The decision follows cases within government circles over what they describe as a “pattern of negligence” by social media firms in responding to police requests. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil criticised TikTok’s response times.
“TikTok was very slow in providing information… to the point that I had to call TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to inform him, ‘this is a crime that’s being committed and your organisation is very slow’,” Fahmi said, warning that such behaviour would not be tolerated.
The trigger for this confrontation was a viral TikTok video in which a man falsely claimed to be a pathologist working on the investigation into the death of Zara Qairina Mahathir, a case that has attracted public attention. Authorities say TikTok’s delay in handling the matter forced the minister to personally intervene.
Top executives of TikTok are expected to appear at Malaysia’s federal police headquarters, Bukit Aman, on Thursday. The Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General will also attend the meeting.
Meta has not been spared as the company, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is being summoned over disturbing materials linked to paedophilia that spread across its platforms, including content uncovered during a cybercrime operation known as Operation Pedo.
Authorities have specifically flagged an online group called Geng Budak Sekolah, which circulated indecent content targeting children.
The Malaysian government has classified several categories of online activity as harmful. These include gambling, scams, child pornography and grooming, cyberbullying, and content linked to race, religion, and royalty. Officials argue that these categories pose both social and national security risks.
Fahmi has insisted that every platform must comply with local laws and respond quickly to enforcement requests. “We see these platforms are not taking the matter seriously, so the dialogue process will continue, and we will stress that Malaysian law applies to them and they must comply. We will summon every platform,” he said.
At the Al Grand Prix Conference 2025, Fahmi also disclosed that Malaysia is considering mandatory identity verification for all online sales and advertising. The proposal is intended to limit fake accounts, deepfakes, and fraud. Singapore already enforces a similar policy, and Malaysia is positioning itself to follow that model.
The issue aligns with international trends where Governments from India to Indonesia, and even within the European Union, are tightening regulations on global tech giants, imposing fines, and in some cases threatening outright bans for non-compliance.
Neither TikTok nor Meta has issued an immediate public response to Malaysia’s latest move.
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