Malaysia orders TikTok to address ‘defamatory’ content about king

Watchdog instructs social media big to strengthen moderation following circulation of ‘grossly offensive’ content.

Malaysia’s web watchdog has ordered TikTok to take motion in opposition to “offensive and defamatory” content about the nation’s monarchy.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Fee (MCMC) mentioned on Thursday that it had instructed the video-sharing platform to take “instant remedial measures” in response to an account purporting to be linked to King Sultan Ibrahim.

The MCMC mentioned its order requires the social media firm to strengthen its moderation insurance policies and supply a “formal clarification” for its failure to block the “grossly offensive, false, menacing and insulting” content, together with AI-generated movies and manipulated photographs.

The regulator mentioned it takes a “critical view” of on-line platforms getting used to disseminate content that’s false or “detrimental to public order”, notably because it relates to the monarchy.

It added that it issued the order after discovering TikTok’s response to earlier notifications to be “unsatisfactory”.

TikTok, based by Chinese language tech firm ByteDance, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

“MCMC will proceed to take agency and proportionate motion the place needed to guarantee digital platforms working in Malaysia uphold their tasks in sustaining a secure, safe and respectful on-line surroundings,” the watchdog mentioned in an announcement.

Malaysia, a constitutional monarchy, penalises speech deemed to encourage “hatred or contempt” in opposition to the royal household below a sedition regulation handed in 1948.

The watchdog’s order in opposition to TikTok is the most recent transfer by authorities within the Southeast Asian nation to regulate social media platforms.

In January, the MCMC briefly blocked entry to the AI assistant Grok amid a world backlash over its use to create sexually specific photographs of individuals with out their consent.

Malaysia’s authorities can also be at the moment getting ready to implement laws handed final 12 months to prohibit social media use by under-16s, following comparable strikes by nations together with Australia, Indonesia and France.