Malaysian government questions TikTok on blocking of Israel-Hamas content

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Social media platform TikTok is being questioned by the communications and digital Ministry (KKD) for allegedly blocking content related to the Israel-Palestine conflict on the platform.

According to Minister Fahmi Fadzil, he has received complaints from users where they shared that their content which contained related terms or words like Hamas was automatically removed due to “community guidelines violations”.

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The minister told reporters during a Freedom For Palestine rally at Dataran Merdeka that the platform has been contacted for an explanation but it was deemed unsatisfactory.

“So, I may seek guidance from the Foreign Ministry regarding several matters and we will summon them (TikTok)," he was quoted saying on NST.

He added that he has received confirmation that there are no content restrictions on the platform, especially Facebook.

The news comes approximately a week after news broke that the Communications and Digital Ministry, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will hold a discussion with TikTok about the platform adhering to Malaysian laws and being more proactive with the spread of disinformation.

TikTok must operate according to Malaysian guidelines and laws while being more proactive in curbing the spread of fake news and defamatory material which includes coordinated inauthentic behavior, said Fahmi in a statement on X.

TikTok’s compliance with Malaysian laws remains unsatisfactory and must be immediately rectified, he added. MCMC’s meeting with TikTok also raised the issue of purchasing advertisements and distributing content on the platform following complaints from various stakeholders about the advertisements booked directly with social media platforms.

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