KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 — A coalition of civil groups has today expressed concern over the Cabinet’s alleged proposal to license social media platforms, calling it a step towards authoritarianism.

In a joint letter addressed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, they urged instead for the establishment of a Social Media Council (SMC) to provide a self-regulatory framework for content moderation.

“A balanced approach of self-regulation with independent oversight and clear legal frameworks is a more effective way to ensure accountability of social media platforms while protecting democratic values.

“An inclusive multi-stakeholder initiative will also ensure more credibility as it would remove the role of the government in being the sole arbiter on standards and content moderation,” the coalition said.

In its proposal, the coalition said the SMC should include social media platforms, civil society, experts, and industry stakeholders to create an accountability model that can:

Additionally, the coalition urged for an investment in media and digital literacy programmes to educate the public on online harm. It also called for consultative processes with civil society on regulatory and legislative issues, ensuring new laws align with human rights standards.

Finally, the letter demanded a comprehensive legislative reform to amend or repeal laws that have been used to censor lawful expression and speech in Malaysia such as the Official Secrets Act 1972, Peaceful Assembly (Amendment) Act 2019, Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, and Sedition Act 1948.

The joint letter was co-signed by 44 groups and 23 individuals, including Centre for Independent Journalism, Bersih, Amnesty International Malaysia, Gerakan Media Merdeka, Suara Rakyat Malaysia, and political parties Malaysian United Democratic Action (Muda) and the Socialist Party of Malaysia.

It was recently reported the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had chaired meetings with representatives from the industry and the civil society to implement a licensing regime for social media and messaging platforms.

It was reportedly proposed in late 2023 before being approved by the Cabinet in April this year and was slated to be launched next month.

Platforms that would likely be covered include Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Google.

In November last year, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil told the Parliament his ministry was considering making it mandatory for all social media platform service providers in the country to register with the MCMC so they understand and comply with aspects of the country’s legislation.

However in March this year, Fahmi said the government has no plans to create a specific act for the purpose of regulating social media platforms.

Malaysia was ranked 107th based on the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, a fall of 34 places. Fahmi had said then that the ranking "was not that bad".

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/06/26/civil-societies-worry-over-social-media-licensing-call-for-establishment-of-self-regulating-council-instead/141667