KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 11): The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it is reviewing a report published by US-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic about alleged AI misuse involving an election-manipulation platform, and firmly denied any involvement in the activities described in the report.
In a statement issued on Friday, the country's internet and media regulator said it takes the matters raised in the report seriously, and will be seeking information and clarification from the relevant parties.
"For clarity, activities of the nature described in the report do not form part of MCMC’s functions or mandate, and MCMC does not engage in such activities or arrangements.
"MCMC is examining the report and will seek further information and clarification from the relevant parties to establish the facts and assess the matters raised. Based on the information and evidence available, MCMC will determine the next appropriate course of action within its remit, in coordination with the relevant authorities where necessary," it said.
The response follows findings released on Sept 10 by Anthropic in a report titled: Detecting and countering misuse of AI: September 2026, which detailed its disruption of the operations of the commercial election-manipulation platform that used its Claude AI models to target voters across Malaysia using automated social media accounts on X, a YouTube channel, and a bogus news site.
The platform, which posed as a "defensive cyber intelligence and counter-disinformation tooling outlet", was traced to an Istanbul-based technology company — BBS Bilisim Teknolojileri — which sold access to the platform as a paid "influence-as-a-service" tool.
Its operator also pursued a contract with Malaysia's national communications regulator, Anthropic said, though it found no evidence that the effort succeeded.
The report revealed a broader global trend of AI misuse, including for Russian propaganda operations in Moldova and Africa, demographic profiling of Iranians and Chinese, and the amplification of AI-generated articles across 70 fake outlets in 20 languages using social media bots.
In its statement, MCMC reiterated that protecting the public and addressing online harms remain central to its responsibilities, while reaffirming its commitment to preserving a safe and trusted online environment for Malaysia.