KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has made significant efforts to address online gambling and scam-related content on Facebook, requesting the removal of 249,268 pieces of content this year, with a substantial 91.6 percent of these linked to such activities.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil elaborated on the figures, noting that out of the total requests, 172,072 items were associated with online gambling, while 56,136 were related to scams. He emphasized the limitations of MCMC’s authority, explaining that while the commission can request content removal, the ultimate decision lies with the social media platform. This statement was made during the winding up of the debate on the Supply Bill 2025 (Budget) at the committee level for the ministry in the Dewan Rakyat.

Further highlighting the impact of scams, Fahmi revealed that Malaysians lost RM432 million to scams on Facebook last year, as reported by the Commercial Crime Inves
tigation Department. He also noted that Facebook’s revenue from Malaysia stood at RM2.5 billion, primarily from advertisements, including those promoting online investment scams.

Addressing concerns raised by Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, who alleged government interference in content removal, Fahmi clarified that MCMC acts on complaints filed by individuals, forwarding them to the relevant platforms for evaluation. He cited the example of a false claim about 1.2 million Chinese nationals obtaining Malaysian citizenship, which was removed by the platform for violating community standards.

In an effort to combat misinformation, Fahmi announced the launch of a WhatsApp chatbot service in January. This service aims to empower users to verify the authenticity of suspicious messages by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology.