Recently, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the government is considering a proposal for create a social media platform specifically made for Malaysians. The Minister said this is being considered due to certain social media application providers profiting off Malaysians, but failing to ensure their users’ safety.
Fahmi Fadzil said, “Last year, it was estimated that Facebook alone earned USD 600 million from Malaysia, but what have they done to ensure that the condition and use of their platform in Malaysia are safe?”.
“They lack commitment, so we need to study and assess the situation. It is not easy to develop our own social media platform, but some countries have attempted it. We will look into it,” the Minister added.
But is creating our own social media really necessary? Here’s what we think about this matter.
The issue with social media now – lack of regulations to hold them accountable
Due to poor and even lack of content regulation, social media platforms have turned into a cesspool of scams and cybercrime. Cases of cyberbullying have also been on the rise on these platforms.
But to claim that social media platforms aren’t regulated at all isn’t true. They are being regulated, but by the platform providers themselves, and it seems that they aren’t doing a good enough job in this regard.
Therefore governments around the world had to step in to help solve or at least improve the situation. On 1st August 2024, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) introduced a new regulatory framework to regulate social media and internet messaging platforms.
The regulation requires social media and internet messaging platforms with at least 8 million users to apply for an Applications Service Provider Class licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. This includes major platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, WeChat, Telegram, and X (formerly known as Twitter).
Previously, the MCMC complained about how it was powerless in acting on social media scams as the existing policies were ineffective in solving those issues. This newly introduced licensing which will be effective on 1st January 2025 is aimed at addressing concerns of online harms.
Social media platform providers essentially have 5 months to apply for the licence. They will also be liable to fines if they don’t adhere to the licence conditions to maintain their platforms’ safety.
With the new social media regulations in place, issues related to the safety of users on social media platforms should be addressed. We should also see more proactive and timely actions from the social media platform providers to clamp down on fraud, online scam advertisements, and advertisements that promote gambling. Most importantly, this should help make social media a safer place for children.
Is creating our own social media platform necessary?
With these new regulations in place, is there a need to develop a new social media platform just for Malaysians? There are already dozens of platforms and introducing a new one just doesn’t make sense.
At the end of the day, Malaysians will stick with platforms they are familiar with and with the largest community reach such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X. Would anyone join a government-led social media platform? And most importantly, who will be footing the bill to develop a new social media platform?
If the intention is to ensure a safe online environment for everyone including children, the main focus should be on regulating digital platforms, and not getting into an already saturated business of social media networks.
