Malaysia Summons TikTok Leadership Over Fake News Delays
- tech360.tv
- 17 hours ago
- 2 min read
Malaysian authorities summoned TikTok's top management for alleged delays in tackling fake news on its platform. State news agency Bernama reported this on Tuesday, citing Malaysia's communications minister.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil stated TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, was too slow responding to police investigation requests. This prompted him to ask the firm's chief executive for help, Bernama reported.
Fahmi cited a recent case where a man falsely claimed on TikTok to be a pathologist involved in an investigation into the high-profile death of a Malaysian teenager.
"TikTok was very slow in providing information," Fadzil was quoted as saying, "to the point that I had to call TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to inform him, 'this is a crime that's being committed and your organisation is very slow'."
He added, "We cannot allow such an attitude."
TikTok will be summoned to Malaysian police headquarters on Thursday, with the police chief and attorney-general expected to be in attendance, Fahmi said, according to Bernama.
Malaysia has increased scrutiny of social media companies in recent years. This follows a sharp rise in harmful online content reported on their platforms.
Malaysian authorities classify online gambling, scams, child pornography and grooming, cyberbullying, and content related to race, religion, and royalty as harmful.
Fadzil also stated Meta, parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, will be summoned. This is regarding the spread of "immoral" content, including paedophilia-related imagery, Bernama reported.
Fadzil remarked, "We see these platforms are not taking the matter seriously, so the dialogue process will continue, and we will stress that Malaysian law applies to them and they must comply. We will summon every platform." This was according to Bernama.
Malaysian authorities summoned TikTok's management over alleged delays in tackling fake news.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil stated TikTok was slow in assisting police investigations.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was contacted regarding slow information provision in a specific case.
Source: REUTERS