Malaysia has tightened regulation of social networks – X and Google remain without licenses

Elon Musk’s Company X and Google, which owns the YouTube platform, have not applied for a license, which is required for all social networks operating in Malaysia to comply with the changed legislation. Bloomberg writes about this with reference to data from the local industry regulator.

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On January 1, a new law came into force in Malaysia, according to which social media owners must obtain a special license in order for their platforms to continue operating in the country. A representative of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said that X cited the fact that the number of platform users in Malaysia has not reached the threshold of 8 million people, after which it is necessary to obtain a license. At the same time, Google is negotiating with local officials to ensure that YouTube is not classified as a social network, and therefore does not need to obtain a license.

Malaysia has joined other Asian countries in increasing pressure on major online platforms to hold their owners accountable for the spread of illegal content. Officials around the world continue to look for new ways to regulate social media that could somehow influence public opinion on sensitive political issues.

The law that came into force in Malaysia is aimed at combating the spread of content prohibited in the country, including fraudulent content, child pornography, etc. The Chinese company Tencent, the owner of the WeChat platform, was among the first to receive a license. ByteDance, which owns the TikTok service, did the same. Telegram is in the process of obtaining a license, as is Meta✴ Platforms, which owns Facebook✴, Instagram✴ and WhatsApp.