Fahmi Fadzil warns TikTok of legal action if online crimes persist

share on

twitter /
facebook /
linkedin /
- email
- telegram
- whatsapp
- wechat
- pinterest
- line
- snapchat
- reddit

Video-sharing platform TikTok may face legal action if it fails to take action against online crimes, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil reportedly said.

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and TikTok, the minister said the platform has failed to provide enough moderators to monitor and review harmful content.

This includes harmful content such as cyberbullying, fake content, scams and violations involving underage users.

Don't miss: Govt to appeal court ruling decriminalising offensive online comments, says Fahmi

He also expressed his dissatisfaction, highlighting the recent incident of cyberbullying against late influencer Esha and how the platform has failed to state the number of moderators that have been added to monitor and review Tamil content, reported Bernama.

Fahmi added that the ministry has repeatedly requested TikTok to provide the number of moderators and that legal action will be taken if TikTok continues to fail in addressing the issue. According to Fahmi, the MCMC and deputy minister Teo Nie Ching continue to receive complaints from the Indian community regarding cyberbullying on the platform.

The minister reportedly added that the meeting also revealed that TikTok had been negligent and slow in providing information in cases involving scams.

According to previous reports, the top management of TikTok have been summoned to the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman for a meeting on Thursday 4 September. Fahmi said at the time, that the meeting with the police sought to address issues concerning the platform, such as the spread of false information, sales on TikTok Shop, delays in cooperation with police probes and more.

Earlier in June this year, the minister criticised tech giants Meta and X for failing to take meaningful action against online harms in Malaysia, calling their ongoing reluctance to engage with local regulation “far from satisfactory.”

He said, as quoted by NST, that Facebook, Instagram (under Meta) and X have been giving many excuses. According to the minister, Facebook reportedly said that they would join in on the efforts of the Communications and multimedia content forum of Malaysia (CMCF) after it gets its license, but the minister said, "that's not good enough".

Fahmi added that the tech giants should not be washing their hands of content that causes harm, especially when it involves suicide-related materials.

Malaysia’s move to strengthen content regulation comes amid rising suicide rates and escalating online scams. In 2022, the country recorded 1,068 suicide deaths. This is up 66.6% from 641 cases in 2020, while digital scams cost Malaysians RM53.88 billion in 2024 alone.

Accelerate your brand’s growth with AI-first strategies, emerging tech and data-driven experiences. Join the industry's leading marketers at Digital Marketing Asia 2025 Malaysia on 30 October to uncover transformative trends, real-world wins and powerful ideas for 2025 and beyond.

share on