The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has issued warnings to social media giants Meta and TikTok, following allegations of these platforms blocking pro-Palestinian content. The announcement was made recently by Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil via a statement on his Twitter account.
Fadzil has also made it clear that should MCMC’s warning be dismissed, he will not hesitate to impose more stringent actions against the two social media entities. The nature of these actions, however, remains unspecified. The decision to issue these warnings is apparently underpinned by Article 10 of the Malaysian Constitution, which serves as the legal groundwork for citizens’ freedom of speech and expression.
The ongoing strife between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups has noticeably escalated online since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October. This escalation has been coupled with rampant misinformation, inflammatory graphic content and hate speech on various social media platforms, including TikTok, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, resulting in increasing criticism from various governmental bodies globally.
As of October 7, numerous Facebook and Instagram users have reported their posts about the situations in Palestine being “shadow banned”, capturing significantly fewer views than expected. Meta has publicly denied allegations of intentional suppression of content, asserting that it only aims to address the surge of harmful or potentially harmful content on its platforms.
TikTok has echoed similar sentiments, as highlighted in an email by a spokesperson of the platform to Reuters. The spokesperson categorically denied the claims by the Malaysian government and reinforced that TikTok’s community guidelines apply equally to all content hosted on the platform, prohibiting explicit violence, hate speech, and promotion of hateful ideology.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia has expressed firm support for Palestine amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict, having condemned Israel’s actions and publicly demanded justice for Palestine on multiple occasions via his Twitter handle. In a statement made on October 25, Ibrahim asserted that his government’s decision to unequivocally stand with the Palestinian struggle for freedom.
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