The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) today announced that Facebook-owner Meta has agreed to collaborate with the regulator body and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to help curb online crimes. A meeting involving the three as well as Communications and Digital minister Fahmi Fadzil was held at the police headquarters at Bukit Aman yesterday, which saw a discussion regarding the rise in online fraud, gambling and 3R (religion, royalty and race) related issues present on the conglomerate’s numerous social media platforms.
As you may recall, MCMC previously threatened legal action against Meta for its lack of cooperation in handling the aforementioned matters. It’s also worth noting that the regulatory body had also mulled similar actions towards Telegram last month, which also resulted in the private messaging service to finally hold a discussion with it not long after.
“Losses suffered by Malaysians from January to May 2023 via Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) have almost exceeded RM330 million,” Fahmi revealed via a Facebook post. “This is a 25 percent increase compared to the whole year in 2022.”
According to MCMC, Meta expressed their commitment and willingness to work closely with the regulatory body and PDRM to tackle all of the online crimes mentioned above, as well as those related to impersonation and fraudulent advertisements. Fahmi says he believes that this collaboration will help reduce these issues on all of Meta’s platforms. MCMC also added that Meta’s direct involvement will also ensure the security and protection aspects of its users can be addressed more effectively and comprehensively.
(Source: MCMC [Facebook], Fahmi Fadzil [Facebook])
