Facebook reportedly identified as top source of online gambling and scam content in MY

Facebook has reportedly emerged as the biggest source of online gambling and scam-related content flagged by Malaysian authorities, as the government pushes social media platforms to take greater responsibility for harmful material circulating online.

According to The Star, Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had flagged 470,593 pieces of problematic online content for removal, with platforms taking down 436,661, or 93%, of the total. Online gambling and scam content accounted for 91% of all takedown requests, Fahmi said.

Facebook was reportedly identified as the biggest source of online gambling content, accounting for 78% of all such material detected. YouTube followed at 18%, while TikTok accounted for 4%.

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Fahmi singled out Facebook over the volume of harmful content found on the platform, describing it as the "most problematic" platform for online gambling. He also quipped that there should be an award for the platform that had "sinned the Malaysian public the most", according to The Star.

Facebook similarly recorded the highest share of scam-related content, accounting for 53% of all reported scam material.

The figures come as Malaysian authorities increase pressure on social media platforms to proactively identify and remove content that breaches their own policies, rather than waiting for users or regulators to flag it.

Fahmi reportedly said that in many cases, platforms only act after reports are made to the MCMC or by members of the public. The delay, he added, gives harmful material more time to circulate and potentially affect users.

He called on platforms to shoulder greater responsibility for creating a safer online environment, particularly by detecting and removing problematic content before authorities or users are required to intervene.

According to Fahmi, the MCMC's enforcement efforts are reportedly intended to keep platforms including Facebook, TikTok and Threads free from online crime and harmful content.

His comments were made during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Home Ministry, through the Immigration Department, and the Communications Ministry.

The agreement is expected to strengthen intelligence sharing and speed up investigations between agencies. Fahmi reportedly said the arrangement would allow investigations to be conducted more quickly and facilitate enforcement, including legal action where necessary.

The scrutiny comes amid wider efforts by technology platforms to dismantle scam networks across Southeast Asia. In June, Meta, Microsoft and Coinbase led a coordinated takedown of scam infrastructure across the region, disabling millions of accounts and disrupting fraud operations across the attack chain.

As part of the operation, Meta said it disabled more than 1.4 million accounts, pages and groups across Facebook and Instagram linked to scam networks, while working alongside other industry players. Microsoft suspended around 20,000 fraudulent accounts tied to scam operations, while Coinbase froze more than US$3 million in cryptocurrency assets linked to criminal networks.

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