PETALING JAYA: Victims of online harassment are advised to first lodge a complaint with the relevant social media or over-the-top (OTT) platform where the harassment originated and request the removal of the content, according to Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Commissioner Derek Fernandez.
Fernandez said that social media and OTT platforms enforce moderation and community standards that allow them to remove content and potentially ban users, while emphasising the importance of submitting complaints with precise and accurate information.
“Sadly, however, sometimes the slow response time and lack of urgency shown by these platforms due to their differing priorities placed on what is considered harmful may leave many complainants frustrated.
“Finally, if and when the action is taken and the offending post is removed, the wrongdoer can still open another account on the same or other platforms under a false identity and repeat the harassment,” said Fernandez.
After the complaint is lodged with social media platforms, he said victims can file another report with the police or the MCMC via its Consumer Redress website (aduan.mcmc.gov.my).
According to Fernandez, when the MCMC receives a complaint, it first conducts an evaluation.
If the complaint is found to have merit, the commission will then notify the relevant platform and request the removal of the content.
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“If the ingredients of the offence under Section 211 or Section 233 are fulfilled and the suspect is identifiable, MCMC may open an investigation paper before submitting it to the Deputy Public Prosecutor, who will decide whether to prosecute or otherwise,” said Fernandez.
According to Fernandez, online harassment, including poison pen letters published or distributed online on social media or OTT platforms that include obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive content with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person, can constitute an offence under Section 211 and 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
“This is in addition to the harassment possibly being an offence under Section 507A of the Penal Code for the stalking offence,” he added.
However, Fernandez emphasised the difficulty law enforcement agencies face in confirming the identity of wrongdoers because they are able to take advantage of online anonymity by using false identities on social media or OTT platforms.
“Worse, they (the harassers) may be doing this from another country.
“This will require international law enforcement cooperation, a notoriously long and difficult process,” said Fernandez.
He said there have been discussions on making social media and OTT platforms more responsible for any content posted on their platforms that violates Malaysian law and to be held fully responsible to ensure the identity of wrongdoers on their platforms can be verified.
“The regulatory framework governing such platforms needs to be reviewed, including the need for mandatory licensing to better regulate them more effectively, especially in ensuring the public can be properly protected from online harm,” added Fernandez.
In January, the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) report said that 518 out of 734, or 71%, of complaints received last year came from the Internet or social media platforms.
According to the report, there were 204 cases originating from WhatsApp, 130 from Facebook, 68 from Instagram, 13 from TikTok and six from Twitter.
This also marked an increase from 2021, when there were 412 cases of complaints on social media, as reported by the CMCF, a self-regulated complaints bureau under the MCMC.
