Govt will not delay licensing plans for social media, messaging apps - Fahmi

SEPANG: The Unity Government has no plan to delay or postpone the implementation of the regulatory framework or the licensing requirement for social media and Internet messaging app service providers which is slated to take effect on Jan 1 next year.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the implementation of the licensing framework will proceed as scheduled to achieve the government's aspiration and proactive measures to protect the interests and safety of users.

"We will not delay," he said in response to the open letter by the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim concerning the matter recently.

It was reported that in the open letter posted on the group's website, AIC urged the government to postpone the plan to make license applications mandatory for all social media and Internet messaging services that have at least eight million registered users in the country.

The AIC, which is made up of Google, Meta, X, Apple Inc, Amazon and Grab, claimed that the proposed licensing regime was "unworkable" for the industry and could stifle innovation by placing undue burdens on businesses.

However, e-hailing service provider, Grab, was reported to have distanced itself from the AIC's open letter to the Prime Minister, saying that they had no part in it.

Elaborating, Fahmi also described the letter as strange because the content as well as the number of logos of companies that are members of AIC are constantly changing.

"I have checked. They (AIC) sent a letter on Aug 23, followed by an amendment letter on Aug 26 and another one this morning.

"The same letter, but the first one has many logos, the second one has six logos and the last one has no logo at all. The first letter said "unworkable" and now their views have changed," he said.

Fahmi also invited AIC to discuss the matter directly with the government.

"I'm ready to meet with the AIC. The MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia) had also convened a meeting with the AIC last May and when asked for feedback, AIC requested a month before they could submit their feedback, and then they postponed it, not once but repeatedly," he said.

When asked if the implementation of the regulatory framework would cause foreign companies to withdraw from operating in Malaysia, Fahmi simply said: "If they want to operate in this country, they have to respect and obey Malaysian laws."

-- BERNAMA