Kuala lumpur: The top management of TikTok has been summoned to Bukit Aman following delays in cooperating with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to tackle the spread of fake news on the platform, as announced by Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. The meeting aims to address concerns, including a viral post involving an individual claiming to be a pathologist in the Zara Qairina Mahathir case.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Fahmi expressed dissatisfaction with TikTok's slow response, stating, "TikTok was very slow in providing information to PDRM, to the point that I had to call TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to inform him, 'this is a crime that's being committed and your organisation is very slow'." He emphasized the importance of the meeting, which will be attended by Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail and Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki.
In addition to TikTok, Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of Facebook, will be summoned to explain the spread of immoral content on its platform. Fahmi highlighted issues like the dissemination of paedophilia-related content under Op Pedo, involving an online group called 'Geng Budak Sekolah' that went viral on WhatsApp and Facebook. He stressed that these platforms must comply with Malaysian law and take the issues seriously.
Meanwhile, Fahmi discussed the government's consideration of mandatory identity verification for all sales transactions on social media platforms during a special dialogue session titled Let's Talk AI Revolution at the AI Grand Prix Conference 2025. This measure aims to curb misuse of fake accounts linked to fraud, online gambling ads, and deepfake content.
The Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Safe and Responsible Use of Social Media Platforms for ASEAN is set to be formally adopted during the 47th ASEAN Summit in October. The dialogue session, moderated by Astro AWANI senior assistant vice-president and executive editor Hafidah Samat, also featured Capital A Berhad CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
The AI Grand Prix Conference 2025, organized by IPPTAR, brings together academics, industry experts, creative practitioners, and policymakers to discuss the role of artificial intelligence in shaping Malaysia's communication, media, and digital leadership landscape. The conference aims to strengthen the country's competitiveness in the digital transformation era under the theme Driving Intelligence to Lead the Future.