KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) — Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has criticised tech giant Meta for its lack of effectiveness in tackling criminal activities on its platforms, warning that the government may consider further action if cooperation is not improved.
In a statement today, Fahmi said a meeting was held with Meta representatives at the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), attended by senior officials from the Royal Malaysia Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID), Attorney General’s Chambers, Home Ministry, Finance Ministry, National Financial Crime Prevention Centre (NFCC), and National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA).
“The meeting focused on critical issues involving Meta platforms, particularly Facebook, including online gambling, scams, misinformation, 3R content (Race, Religion, Royalty), and the sale of prohibited products such as drug-laced vape liquids,” he said.
Fahmi said that as of Sept 19, a total of 168,774 takedown requests had been submitted to Meta for Facebook alone, making up 59 per cent of all takedown requests across social media platforms in Malaysia.
“Of that number, 120,127 were related to online gambling, but only 114,665 pieces of content were removed. As for scams, 37,722 takedown requests were made, and 36,918 were acted on. The remaining harmful content is still circulating on Facebook, which is highly concerning,” he said.
Fahmi also cited data from the CCID, which showed that Meta’s platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) were used in 18,128 e-commerce scam cases from 2023 to August 2025, resulting in over RM248 million in losses.
“These numbers show that Meta still fails to fully cooperate in combating cybercrime. This hampers the authorities’ efforts to protect the public from growing online threats,” he said.
Despite Meta’s assurance that it will enhance cooperation and enforcement measures, Fahmi stressed that more decisive action is expected.
He said Meta and other social media platforms have been urged to implement more effective age and identity verification mechanisms, such as integration with MyKad and MyDigital ID, to prevent minors from creating accounts and being exposed to inappropriate content.
“The MADANI Government will not compromise on digital safety. Meta and all social media platforms must take greater responsibility to ensure that content violating national laws is promptly removed.
“The Ministry of Communications, in collaboration with enforcement agencies, will step up monitoring efforts and consider further action if Meta fails to improve its cooperation,” he added.
— BERNAMA
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