Malaysia Introduced New Media Law Requiring Foreign Social Platforms to Apply For Operating Licenses

 

Malaysia's communications regulator said it had issued Chinese social platforms, (HKG:0700) Tencent's WeChat and ByteDance's TikTok, with licenses to operate in Malaysia under the new social media law. Nevertheless, certain other platforms have not yet applied.

 

The law, which tackles growing cybercrime, demands social media platforms and messaging services obtaining over 8 million users in Malaysia to hold licenses or face legal sanctions. The law took effect on Wednesday, January 1st.

 

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission stated on Wednesday that the messaging platform Telegram was about to obtain a license. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META), which has Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been in the licensing process.

 

Some platforms, however, have not applied for licenses. X failed to do so because it said it had fewer than 8 million local users. The regulator is validating X's statement.

 

Additionally, the regulator said that Alphabet's $GOOGL Google, which runs the video platform YouTube, also did not send out the application because of doubts about YouTube's video-sharing capabilities and its classification under the licensing law. The regulator did not explain why YouTube was also considered a target by the laws, saying only that YouTube must comply with the law.

 

Malaysia reported a surge in social media of toxic content including online gambling, scams, child pornography and abduction, cyberbullying, and content related to race, religion, and royalty in early 2024. Thereby, it asked social media companies to tighten controls on their platforms.

 

WeChat has 12 million users in Malaysia, according to independent data provider World Population Review.

 

Consultancy Kepios said that, by early 2024, YouTube had about 24.1 million users in Malaysia; TikTok had 28.68 million adult users; Facebook had 22.35 million users; X had 5.71 million users.

 

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