Social media license to remain despite objections from AIC

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil has reportedly responded to an open letter by the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) on social media licensing. 

In his response, the minister reportedly said that these platforms must comply with the regulations if they want to operate in Malaysia. 

He said that the big tech companies may be big, but Malaysia's laws are bigger, reported The Star. The minister reportedly made these comments at an Orang Asil development event in Sepang on Tuesday. 

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Fahmi reportedly maintained his stance that the tech companies, whom he met with in Singapore in July this year, had positive views. 

When asked about tech companies potentially pulling out of Malaysia, Fahmi reportedly said that government has considered all aspects. 

The minister reportedly pointed out that the AIC does not represent all social media platforms involved, reported Malaysiakini.

As such, the government will reportedly continue to proceed with implementing the license despite objections. 

In a media statement released by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), it emphasised that the licensing requirement was decided based on the need to regulate service providers with significant impact on the Malaysian digital ecosystem. 

"This regulatory framework was introduced as a key step towards a safer online environment, including addressing online gambling, scams and pornography," said the MCMC. 

It added that it has "consistently engaged with a broad spectrum of stakeholders" and will be "undertaking a public inquiring exercise to solicit feedback from all relevant parties to ensure that the final framework is fair, effective and reflective of the needs of both the industry and the public". 

Yesterday, it was reported that Grab Malaysia had distanced itself from the open letter by the AIC, saying that the proposed regulations do not impact its operations and that it had no part in the open letter. 

The open letter by the AIC argued that the new regulations could hinder innovation, deter investments and place under compliance burden on businesses. 

Whilst checks by A+M on 27 August saw that the open letter was no longer available on the AIC official website, a check today (28 August) saw a new letter uploaded on the site. 

The letter said the proposed regime represents a significant shift in Malaysia's regulatory landscape and that introducing such a change "without a clear roadmap or sufficient industry engagement risks destabilising" the ecosystem, leading to "profound effects on established players, emerging startups, small businesses and the broader digital economy". 

It added that there have been no formal public consultations on the matter and shared its concerns on how the framework will impact Malaysia's digital economy. 

It also said that the grace period of five months for compliance is insufficient for service providers to adequately prepare for the new licensing requirements. 

This comes after it was revealed that all social media services and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a class license beginning 1 August.

According to the MCMC, failure to obtain a class licence under the communications and multimedia act 1998 after the effective date would be considered an offence. It will come into effect on 1 January 2025.

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