KUALA LUMPUR: TikTok has taken steps to strengthen its content moderation system following the death of Hindu activist Rajeswary Appahu, says Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
According to Fahmi, the latest social media trend is that TikTok live sessions often occur late at night. This is similar to the Rajeswary incident, where she was cyberbullied during a live streaming session between 3-4 am.
“TikTok said that they viewed this incident seriously and were very affected. They immediately increased the number of content moderators in vernacular language, including Tamil,” said Fahmi during Minister Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (July 18).
Fahmi was responding to a supplementary question by R. Yuneswaran (PH-Segamat), who asked about steps taken by the government to ensure that content moderation on social media platforms includes contents of vernacular languages.
Fahmi also said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Cabinet believe social media platforms should be responsible for the issue.
“These platforms should not be allowed to just ‘wash their hands’ on the issue,” said Fahmi.
Fahmi also said cyberbullying affects people from all walks of life, and even MPs have fallen victim to digital scams and harassment.
At the same time, Fahmi advised all MPs to remind children under 13 not to open social media accounts.
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“Every platform does not allow children under 13 to create new accounts. Unfortunately, these platforms themselves are careless in verifying the age of new accounts,” said Fahmi.
Fahmi also warned Malaysians to be mindful of their comments on live-streaming sessions. Social media platforms monitor such remarks and collaborate with the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Earlier, Fahmi was responding to Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas), who asked about the government's steps to create new laws to address cyberbullying.
According to Fahmi, his ministry, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reforms), the Home Ministry, the Digital Ministry and several government agencies have met twice, with the latest on July 17, to discuss the cyberbullying issue.
Fahmi said that among the meeting's findings was that existing laws, such as Sections 503 and 509 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act, can be used to address cyberbullying.
Rajeswary was found dead in a condominium unit in Setapak on July 5, a day after lodging a police report over threats made to her.
