KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 – Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak ordered the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to immediately meet with providers of social media platforms as Facebook (FB), Google and Twitter to seek their cooperation in curbing the spread of false information and rumors wind in Malaysia.
“Although they cooperate with various Malaysian authorities in the effort, but the level of cooperation should be further enhanced. There are laws in Malaysia governing the dissemination of false and unverified information, and is in the law if the information is uploaded and disseminated to the public, said Salleh.
“At this time, although the authorities can block access or block such applications, they will not do so as the majority of social media users use the application as a positive and not a negative for the purpose or to criticize,” he said in a recent note to his blog. However, reminded the public that does not mean they can load information was not passed without respect or abide by the law,” he said.
“The issue of false information recently received attention in the media, especially online news portal. I would like to urged the public to understand that the online environment is not a lawless area and action may be taken against anyone found breaking the law, not least in the online space. The publishing or uploading sensitive information has not been confirmed or may be triggering unwanted situation that affects public safety,” he said.
“As a responsible government, be it a duty to protect citizens from harm, including the threat posed by the material loaded in the social media and the internet. Therefore, the closer cooperation of providers of social media is important in the public interest to assist the authorities in support of the law and protect the people of this country from danger,” he added.
Citing an example, Salleh said that in 2014, an estimated 78 percent of the MCMC application for the production of content have been implemented by the provider of social media, with implementation by the FB cover 81 percent of the MCMC application.
“The latest statistics as at the end of July 2015 showed 49 per cent of applications received MCMC appropriate action, 33 percent by YouTube and 42 percent by FB. Although social media providers to cooperate, we ask them to be more sensitive to the environment where we are,” he said.
