KUALA LUMPUR: Facebook-owner Meta and China’s TikTok restricted a record number of social media posts and accounts in Malaysia in the first six months of 2023, data published by the firms showed, amid a jump in government requests to remove content.
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, which came to power in November 2022 on a reformist platform, has faced accusations of backpedaling on its promises to protect freedom of speech amid increased scrutiny of online content in recent months.
The government has denied allegations of stifling dissent online, saying it wanted to curb provocative posts that touch on race, religion and royalty.
Between January and June this year, Meta restricted about 3,100 pages and posts on its Facebook and Instagram platforms from being viewed by users in Malaysia because they were reported to have allegedly violated local laws, according to data published in the firm’s twice-yearly Transparency Report this month.
The figure was six times higher than in the previous half-year period and the highest since the company began reporting content restrictions in Malaysia in 2017.
Meta said between July 2022 and June 2023, it restricted access to more than 3,500 items in response to reports by Malaysia’s communications regulator and other government agencies.
The content included criticism of the government and posts that allegedly violated laws on illegal gambling, hate speech, racially or religiously divisive content, bullying and financial scams, Meta’s report said.
Short video platform TikTok, in a similar report issued last month, said it had received 340 requests from the Malaysian government to remove or restrict content between January and June 2023, affecting 890 posts and accounts.
TikTok removed or restricted 815 of those for violating local laws or the platform’s community guidelines — the highest in a six-month period since it began reporting requests from Malaysia in 2019, the data showed. It was triple the number TikTok removed in the second half of 2022.
Malaysia made more requests to restrict content on TikTok than any other government in Southeast Asia, the data showed. Meta did not publish the total number of government requests it received for content restrictions.
The Malaysian government did not respond to a request for comment on the data. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said this week the communications regulator often acted upon complaints from ordinary users, denying allegations that he had requested the agency to seek the removal of posts critical of him on social media.
Race and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, which has a predominantly Muslim ethnic Malay population but significant ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. It also has laws prohibiting seditious remarks or insults against its monarchy.
Fahmi said in October that TikTok had not done enough to curb defamatory or misleading content on its platform and accused it of failing to comply with some local laws. TikTok said it would take proactive measures to address the issues raised.
The government also threatened to take legal action against Meta for failing to act against “undesirable” content but dropped the plan after meetings with the company.
Free speech group Article 19 denounced the removal of posts critical of the government and expressed concerns over its increased requests to restrict content, warning that it could stifle legitimate free speech and expression.
“It is never permissible to prohibit expression solely because it casts a critical view on social issues, public figures or government institutions,” said Nalini Elumalai, its senior Malaysia program officer.
Meta, TikTok report jump in Malaysia govt requests to remove content in 2023
https://arab.news/2f4f5
Meta, TikTok report jump in Malaysia govt requests to remove content in 2023
- News sparked concerns about freedom of speech, rise in scrutiny of online content
- Removed content included criticism of the government, posts on illegal gambling, hate speech, racially or religiously divisive content
Pioneering Asharq Al-Awsat journalist Mohammed al-Shafei dies at 74
- Egyptian was known for his fearless coverage of terrorist, extremist groups
- One of handful of reporters to interview Taliban leader Mullah Omar in 1970s
LONDON: Mohammed al-Shafei, one of Asharq Al-Awsat’s most prominent journalists, has died at the age of 74 after a 40-year career tackling some of the region’s thorniest issues.
Born in Egypt in 1951, al-Shafei earned a bachelor’s degree from Cairo University in 1974 before moving to the UK, where he studied journalism and translation at the University of Westminster and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
He began his journalism career at London-based Arabic papers Al-Muslimoon and Al-Arab — both of which are published by Saudi Research & Publishing Co. which also owns Arab News — before joining Al-Zahira after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Al-Shafei joined Asharq Al-Awsat in 1991 and spent 15 years on the sports desk before shifting to reporting on terrorism. He went on to pioneer Arab press coverage in the field, writing about all aspects of it, including its ideologies and ties to states like Iran.
His colleagues knew him for his calm demeanor, humility and meticulous approach, marked by precise documentation, deep analysis and avoidance of sensationalism.
Al-Shafei ventured fearlessly into terrorist strongholds, meeting senior terrorist leaders and commanders. In the 1970s he was one of only a handful of journalists to interview Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, and conducted exclusive interviews with senior figures within Al-Qaeda.
He also tracked post-Al-Qaeda groups like Daesh, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Boko Haram, offering pioneering analysis of Sunni-Shiite extremism and how cultural contexts shaped movements across Asia and Africa.
During the war on Al-Qaeda, he visited US bases in Afghanistan, embedded with international forces, and filed investigative reports from active battlefields — rare feats in Arab journalism at the time.
He interviewed Osama bin Laden’s son, highlighting a humanitarian angle while maintaining objectivity, and was among the few Arab journalists to report from Guantanamo, where his interviews with Al-Qaeda detainees shed light on the group’s operations.
Al-Shafei married a Turkish woman in London in the late 1970s, with whom he had a son and daughter. He was still working just hours before he died in London on Dec. 31.
