Meta reported a dramatic increase in the amount of restricted content on its social media sites in Malaysia. According to calculations by news outlet FMT based on data from Meta’s transparency centre, the number of restricted items on Facebook and Instagram rose 16-fold in a single year, from 536 in 2022 to a whopping 8,580 in 2023.
The sharp increase began in the second half of 2022, where the amount of restricted content in Malaysia rose from a mere 66 items to 470. But the start of 2023 is when the figures really start to take off, surging to 3,100 items in the first half and then another 5,480 items from July to December.
Breaking down the 2023 figures between the two platforms, Facebook reported restricting 3,250 posts, 1,900 comments, 1,832 pages and groups, two albums, and 690 profiles in Malaysia. On Instagram’s side, it restricted a total of 660 accounts and 282 media items.
Meta’s changelog states that it restricted over 4,700 items in Malaysia during the second half of 2023 that involved illegal gambling, hate speech, racially or religiously divisive content, bullying content, and criticisms of the government. Additionally, the amount of requests for user data from the Malaysian government hit an all-time high during this period, reaching a total of 111 requests.
The restricted access for these contents were done in response to reports from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching said earlier this year that the MCMC would present requests for the removal of specific content to Facebook, TikTok, X, and other platforms if it received a complaint, but denied that it issues directives for the removal of critical content.
(Source: FMT)
