Malaysia cracks down: Facebook, others remove 160,000 harmful posts
Major social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, have taken down about 160,000 posts in Malaysia for violating online safety standards. The posts were removed in response to takedown requests by Malaysian authorities. Facebook alone accounted for 57 percent of the total actions taken.
Government’s commitment to digital safety
Most of the flagged content involved illegal online gambling, but the authorities are also cracking down on scams, cyberbullying, and fake news. The announcement was made by Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil during the Ministry of Communications’ monthly assembly. The remarks were made alongside Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching, Secretary-General Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, and Bernama CEO Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
Fahmi detailed the ministry’s progress in tackling online threats and emphasised the government’s commitment to digital safety for all Malaysians. Online gambling was the most common offence, accounting for 51 percent of all takedown actions. Following behind were scams, representing 25 percent, cyberbullying making up 12 percent whereas 9 percent of the takedown actions were fake news. So far this year, the total takedowns are responses to Malaysian authorities’ over 174,000 takedown requests issued.
Concerns about child exploitation content
During the assembly, Fahmi also raised concerns about child exploitation content, particularly on Facebook. He emphasised the need for more aggressive and strategic measures to deal with such material. Fahmi referenced Op Pedo Bersepadu, a joint effort by the Royal Malaysia Police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), as a model operation as it helped dismantle child exploitation rings and reinforced the government’s capability to fight online crimes.
Illegal betting and gambling activities have long plagued Malaysian cyberspace. Recent crackdowns include Singapore-Malaysian police busting cross-border horse betting syndicate. The coordinated operation on 11 June led to simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Singapore and one in Malaysia. Last month, Malaysian police raided an illegal online gambling call centre operating out of a commercial building in Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, detaining 30 individuals and uncovering a significant network of illegal digital gambling operations.
Another RM32 million were frozen by Malaysian authorities across 150 mule accounts since 2023 in a nationwide effort to stop illegal online gambling and scams. These accounts were used by criminals to move money and hide their illegal activities. As of March 2025, police have recorded 485 gambling-related cases, which led to 542 arrests and 255 people being charged in court. The number of cases is going down, with 1,510 cases recorded in 2024 and 2,337 cases in 2023. To support this crackdown, the government changed the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The updates introduce tougher penalties for cybercrimes, including online gambling and scams.
