Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has revealed that Telegram has been unwilling to cooperate with the Malaysian government to address the many complaints of ongoing misuse of the latter’s platform, including those related to scams, pornography and illegal drug sales. He added that the ministry had previously made multiple requests for a meeting with the service provider, with the most recent attempt being made in March this year.
“We admit we have a problem with Telegram,” the minister told reporters after the launch of the logo and theme for the 2023 National Day and Malaysia Day at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Park on Saturday. “Despite being invited to meet since January until today, they refused to cooperate.”
Fahmi added that Telegram may be subject to action if they continue to ignore the Communications and Digital Ministry’s invitation to discuss and seek a solution on complaints related to user security on the platform. He stressed that a meeting with the service provider is intended to ensure the best solution for the numerous complaints regarding the platform’s misuse is found immediately.
“I have asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to study the appropriate actions to be taken,” he added. “I will leave it to [them] as the responsible regulatory body to recommend the action to be taken.”
In regards to other platforms, the Comms minister said that Facebook, Twitter and TikTok have been cooperating with the ministry. Fahmi also noted that Malaysia had no issues with TikTok even though other countries have expressed cybersecurity concerns surrounding the ByteDance-owned social media platform. “Malaysia as a sovereign country, does not need to follow the footsteps of other countries and we have the right to make our own decisions based on facts and assessments made by our agencies,” he said.
Meanwhile in a statement to Amanz, Telegram explained that it is actively removing any harmful content on its platform, which includes pornography and the sale of prohibited materials. It notes that its moderators are also proactive in monitoring its service to curb any content that violates its terms and conditions of service, in addition to overseeing any complaints received via its abuse@telegram.org email.
The service provider added, however, that it will not engage in any political censorship. It is unclear whether Telegram also sent a similar statement to the Comms Ministry or MCMC after it was approached by both parties prior to this.
(Source: Bernama / Malay Mail / Amanz)
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