Analysis: Anwar government steps up crackdown on big tech companies, raising questions about its true intentions

The 15th National Election Malay voters turn to the opposition in droves The National Alliance (PN) has been dubbed the “Green Wave” by analysts because Social media promotion and a loss of confidence in the Barisan Nasional’s position as the main defender of Malay rights.

The coalition government also Hit in six state elections In August 2023, despite maintaining the status quo, the opposition made further gains in traditional government strongholds.

But Anwar’s political position now appears more secure as six opposition lawmakers pledged their support for the prime minister in exchange for constituency allocations. No need to vacate your seatdecided by the Speaker of the National Assembly.

Malaysia must hold its next general election by February 2028. Anwar’s party has expressed its intention to retain him as prime minister.

Suppressing criticism

Praba Ganesan, chief executive of the democracy outreach group KUASA, said the licensing system could be seen as a desire by Anwar’s coalition government to put in place safeguards against “vicious criticism” of the sitting president online.

“If Perikatan Nasional’s social media performs too well during the election season, it is natural that Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional would want to subvert Perikatan Nasional’s social media,” he wrote in an opinion piece published in The Malay Mail on Aug 1.

Ganesan said that while any sensible government would not ignore social media and its duty to regulate such platforms, it could also deploy censorship to “protect its own rule”.

“Malaysia’s move is not unique or isolated, but it is still worrying. Especially when words like ‘kill switch’ are widely circulated,” he added.

On August 1, MCMC provided further clarification on the category licensing regime for social media platforms, stressing that regulatory intervention has become “essential” given the rise in online harms in recent years.

MCMC said the class licence is an existing licence that social media platforms did not need to apply for previously. Licensees must have a “robust policy” to address online harms and comply with directives issued by MCMC under the Communications and Multimedia Act or subsidiary legislation.

Eligible social media platforms and internet messaging companies (i.e. companies with more than 8 million registered users in the country) could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to RM500,000 (US$111,235) if they fail to obtain a class license. Operators could also be fined RM1,000 for each day they fail to obtain a license.

MCMC said its directives cannot be “issued arbitrarily and must comply with due process”, noting that parties will have an “opportunity to be heard” before the directives are issued. It said parties can also challenge the directives at the Court of Appeal, followed by judicial review.

However, Ghanisan said there was still a “thorny” question: “If a platform fails to obtain a licence, will it cease to operate in Malaysia?”

Social media platforms play a role

Despite threats by Deputy Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to impose a ban on social media platforms that do not comply, Communications Minister Fahmi said the government had no intention of doing so.

Mr Fahmi has previously acknowledged the value of social media in a country like Malaysia where social media platforms are widely used.

CNA has contacted Meta, TikTok and Google-owned YouTube for comment on Malaysia’s concerted efforts to regulate social media and the number of takedown requests made.

MCMC did not reveal which platforms had 8 million users in the country, saying only that it would mainly use data from its “official surveys” and other “publicly available and reliable data points” to quantify the number of users.

However, according to local media reports, these companies include Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Elon Musk’s X, among others.

Taylor’s University media and communications senior lecturer Dr Benjamin Loh believes that in a region where social media is going crazy, platforms have no choice but to comply, and the government is equally keen to regulate it.

“I believe the platforms may acquiesce as this could have a domino effect on other countries in the region,” he told CNA, noting that Indonesia and the Philippines are the biggest users of social media.

“Many established tech companies are currently in a profitable phase, which means they cannot risk losing market share.”

For now, it looks like the biggest social media platforms are ready to get involved.

MCMC data showed that Meta-operated platforms Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp had compliance rates of 79% to 88% for removal requests, while TikTok’s compliance rate was 76%.