Tech giants urge Malaysia to pause plan for social media platform licenses (updated)

Byte Metaverse Holdings

26/08/2024 15:43

(Adds removal of letter from website in paragraph 2; Grab
statement in 3)
       KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 (Reuters) - An Asian industry group
that includes Google  GOOGL.O , Meta  META.O  and X urged
Malaysia in an open letter to pause a plan that will require
social media services to apply for a license, citing a lack of
clarity over the proposed regulations. 
    However, the letter from the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC)
was removed from its website late Monday, and the group did not
immediately respond to Reuters' requests for an explanation.  
    Grab  GRAB.O , a member of the coalition, said in a separate
statement it had not been informed or consulted about the
letter, adding that the government's plan did not impact on its
operations.      
    In July, Malaysia's communications regulator said social
media platforms with more than eight million users in the
country would be required to apply for a license from this month
as part of a drive to combat cybercrime. 
    Legal action could be taken against the platforms if they
failed to do so by Jan. 1, 2025, the regulator said.   
    In the letter dated Friday and addressed to Malaysian Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the AIC - whose members also include
Apple Inc  AAPL.O  and Amazon  AMZN.O  - said the proposed
licensing regime was "unworkable" for the industry and could
stifle innovation by placing undue burdens on businesses. 
    The group said there had been no formal public consultations
on the plan, leading to industry uncertainty regarding the scope
of obligations to be imposed on social media platforms. 
    "No platform can be expected to register under these
conditions," AIC Managing Director Jeff Paine wrote in the
letter posted on the group's website. 
    Malaysia's communications ministry declined to comment on
the letter. The prime minister's office did not respond to a
request for comment. 
    The AIC also expressed concern that the proposed regulations
could hamper Malaysia's growing digital economy, which has
attracted significant investments this year. 
    The group said it shared the government's commitment to
addressing online harms, but the proposed implementation
timeline left the industry with insufficient clarity and time to
assess its implications.
    The government reported a sharp increase in harmful social
media content earlier this year and urged social media firms,
including Meta and short video platform TikTok  8645.HK , to
step up monitoring on their platforms.

 (Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Danial Azhar; Editing by Mark
Potter)
 ((rozanna.latiff@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
@rozlatiff on Twitter))