KUALA LUMPUR: The government has identified eight social media and online messaging platforms that will be required to obtain a licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 by next year.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, in an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times, said the platforms included Meta's WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter), Google's YouTube, Pavel Durov's Telegram, Tencent's WeChat and ByteDance's TikTok.

He said these platforms had met the threshold of at least eight million users in the country, and added that they were not being specifically targeted.

Fahmi said the ministry was currently engaging with the platforms to explain and emphasise the necessity of the requirement.

He said some platforms had pushed back, citing reasons such as concerns over stifling innovation and challenges of establishing a local office.

However, he expressed confidence that given the profits these platforms generate and the significance of the Malaysian market, they should comply with local laws.

Using Meta as an example, Fahmi said the company earned approximately RM2.5 billion annually from the Malaysian market through advertising.

On top of that, he said Malaysians had reportedly lost more than RM400 million to scams published on Meta's Facebook, which accounted for 90 per cent of the 180,000 articles of gambling and fraud content that the government had ordered to be removed.

"What makes you (platform providers) so extraordinary or special that you can make money from us, but our laws don't apply to you?" he said.

The government is standing firm by its decision, he added, and the licensing requirement was not about stifling free speech or hindering innovation.

"The automotive industry is licensable, but that doesn't stop a wide variety of innovative products from entering the market," he said.

Fahmi noted that many other platforms had indicated their willingness to comply with the licensing requirement.

"Telegram representatives came last week, and our engagement was very positive. I met Google last week and I am meeting Meta this week. This kind of engagement is ongoing.

"We believe that when we highlight our intent to make the Internet in Malaysia safer for children and families, how can you not get behind a message like that?" he said.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/12/1150721/govt-names-8-platforms-must-obtain-licence