Malaysia demands action against rampant gambling advertisements on Facebook
The initiative comes during the Safe Internet Campaign aimed at keeping children and vulnerable people safe.
Key points:
– Malaysian ministers will hold a meeting to discuss what can be done to curb gambling content on social media
– According to the Communications Minister, Facebook refuses to take any action on the matter
Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, the Malaysian Communications Minister, will meet with Meta on 22 September to demand more to be done over gambling content on social media platforms.
There can be a delicate balance when it comes to censorship and social media, as many people rely on the platform for economic and social purposes.
However, the Malaysian Government does not want the platforms to be exploitable by criminals who promote unregulated or illegal products for profit.
Only recently, 328 people were arrested in Malaysia following a coordinated crackdown on illegal gambling operations.
On the matter, Fadzil told local media: “They have several questions and queries, and I believe on 22 September we will be able to address some of these matters.
“I also found that the majority of content taken down on Facebook consists of online gambling ads and gambling-related posts.
“Complaints that we have submitted from the beginning until now, for example, if an online gambling advertisement is paid for using a credit card, Facebook should know that this is content not permitted in Malaysia.”
Good to know: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has visited more than 2,600 schools so far this year as part of the Safe Internet Campaign, and hopes to reach 10,000 schools by next year
Fadzil continued: “These are among the discussions that I believe we will continue, and we are taking a dialogic approach because we do not intend to ban or shut down, but to take a constructive stance.
“It is to deliver the message that we must use the internet safely, and that in fact we have the ability to make the internet safer, especially for children and families.”
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