Communications Ministry Assures Simple Process For Social Media Licensing Application

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Communications has assured that the process for obtaining a licence for social media platform providers to operate in Malaysia will be straightforward.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had informed that the licensing process was expected to take between three to five working days.

He added that the ministry expected to receive licensing applications from social media platform operators around October or November this year.

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"We assure social media platform providers that since we are implementing a 'Class Licence,' the process is not as difficult as an 'Individual Licence.'

"An 'Individual License' might take several months to process, but for a 'Class Licence,' MCMC has informed that it will take three to five working days," he said during a press conference here, today.

The regulatory or licensing framework for social media services, introduced on Aug 1 and effective starting next year, does not involve the users of these social media platforms.

On July 27, the MCMC announced that all social media and Internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in the country must apply for a Class Licence for the Provision of Application Services under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).

Meanwhile, Fahmi said his ministry was actively conducting engagement sessions on the licensing of social media services and the code of conduct guidelines for social media platforms with relevant parties.

"To develop the code of conduct, discussions will be held with all social media platforms, including all stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations, academics, and various parties.

"We believe this can be completed by the end of October. At the same time, the engagement process with social media platforms to ensure they understand the licensing process will continue," he said.

When asked about the ban on the use of Telegram among civil servants in the Netherlands, he said that the government had not yet made any decision to prohibit civil servants from using the application.

He added that issues related to the security of civil servants were managed by the Office of the Chief Government Security Officer of Malaysia (CGSO).

"We have not issued any directive; typically, security aspects are handled by CGSO, but at this time, we have not received any such directive," he said.

Media reports have stated that the Amsterdam City Council had urged Cabinet members and senior staff to stop using the Telegram app due to concerns over ‘criminal activities within the app and the risk of espionage’.

-- BERNAMA