Watchdog instructs social media big to strengthen moderation following circulation of ‘grossly offensive’ content material.
Printed On 22 Might 2026
Malaysia’s web watchdog has ordered TikTok to take motion towards “offensive and defamatory” content material in regards to the nation’s monarchy.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Fee (MCMC) stated on Thursday that it had instructed the video-sharing platform to take “fast remedial measures” in response to an account purporting to be linked to King Sultan Ibrahim.
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The MCMC stated its order requires the social media firm to strengthen its moderation insurance policies and supply a “formal rationalization” for its failure to dam the “grossly offensive, false, menacing and insulting” content material, together with AI-generated movies and manipulated pictures.
The regulator stated it takes a “severe view” of on-line platforms getting used to disseminate content material that’s false or “detrimental to public order”, notably because it pertains to the monarchy.
It added that it issued the order after discovering TikTok’s response to earlier notifications to be “unsatisfactory”.
TikTok, based by Chinese language tech firm ByteDance, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
“MCMC will proceed to take agency and proportionate motion the place vital to make sure digital platforms working in Malaysia uphold their duties in sustaining a secure, safe and respectful on-line atmosphere,” the watchdog stated in a press release.
Malaysia, a constitutional monarchy, penalises speech deemed to encourage “hatred or contempt” towards the royal household underneath a sedition legislation handed in 1948.
The watchdog’s order towards TikTok is the newest transfer by authorities within the Southeast Asian nation to manage social media platforms.
In January, the MCMC briefly blocked entry to the AI assistant Grok amid a worldwide backlash over its use to create sexually specific pictures of individuals with out their consent.
Malaysia’s authorities can also be presently making ready to implement laws handed final yr to ban social media use by under-16s, following related strikes by nations together with Australia, Indonesia and France.
