COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER: NO DIRECTIVE TO MEDIA OUTLETS TO DISABLE COMMENT SECTIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 (Bernama) -- Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil stressed that he has never instructed any media outlet, including the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), to disable the comment section on their social media accounts.

He said media outlets have the right to impose restrictions by methods deemed necessary, including closing the comment section, taking into account the decision of the Federal Court regarding readers’ comments posted on the media portal sites.

“I would like to remind the honourable members about the Federal Court's ruling in 2021 concerning readers’ comments on a news portal.

“The Federal Court ruled that the platform is accountable for the comments posted, so we must exercise caution with the comments that appear.

He said this in his reply to a supplementary question from Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas) concerning the disabled comment sections on social media accounts of media outlets including Bernama, and the need to balance freedom of expression with legal measures against cyberbullying.

Meanwhile, responding to a supplementary question from R. Yuneswaran (PH-Segamat) regarding the measures taken by the ministry to ensure more effective content moderation on social media and in various languages, Fahmi said he had held discussions with TikTok.

“Each media platform manages its own moderation team, and in terms of monitoring by the MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission), among other things, it depends on the public’s complaints.

“We have noticed a current phenomenon where many TikTok Live sessions occur late at night; and in the case of TikTok Live involving the late Rajeswary Appahu, it took place around 3 or 4 in the morning, so adjustments in monitoring are necessary.

“In my discussions with TikTok, the platform viewed this incident seriously and it has promptly increased the number of moderators who will carefully monitor live TikTok content and sessions in vernacular languages, including Tamil,” he said.

The media previously reported that Esha was found dead in a condominium unit in Setapak, on July 5, a day after lodging a police report at the Dang Wangi police station, here, over threats made against her.

-- BERNAMA