Fahmi: Govt to proceed with licensing of social media and internet messaging services on Jan 1 next year

Saturday 23 Nov 2024

PUTRAJAYA (Aug 28): The Cabinet decided on Wednesday to proceed with the implementation of the regulatory framework, or licensing, for social media and internet messaging services, which comes into effect on Jan 1 next year.

Minister of Communications Fahmi Fadzil said the matter was agreed on by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Cabinet members.

“The date of Jan 1, 2025 for the licensing of social media and internet messaging systems to take effect, will remain. There will be no shift or change in the date,” he said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

He said that two forms of services that would be licensed were social media and internet messaging systems, and these do not involve any applications.

On Aug 26, the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), representing major internet and technology companies, has urged the government to halt and carefully reconsider the licensing plan for social media platforms.

The AIC, which includes Google, Meta, Amazon and Grab, sent a letter of protest dated Aug 23 to the prime minister. The same day, Grab announced that it had not been consulted on the letter’s contents.

The framework to licence social media and internet messaging services was approved by the Cabinet on March 8 of this year.

On July 27, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that all social media and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a Class Licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588), starting Jan 1 next year.

Failure to obtain a licence after the effective date is an offence, and legal action may be taken under Act 588.

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