MCMC takedown requests for harmful online content surge, driven by AI abuse

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of takedown requests for harmful online content submitted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to service providers has risen, said Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

She said the upward trend is driven by several factors, including more proactive monitoring by MCMC, increased public awareness of complaint channels, and the growing use of AI technology to disseminate harmful online content.

Teo said the largest share of takedown requests issued by MCMC to service providers was related to gambling, which accounted for 62 per cent of all requests.

“For scam-related content, including fake accounts and impersonation, the requests accounted for 21%, while offensive content made up 7%,” she said in the Dewan Negara today.

She was responding to a question from Senator Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari, who asked the Communications Minister about the top three online security threats in Malaysia—online scams, identity theft and data breaches—as well as the latest statistics and year-on-year trends.

Teo said year-on-year comparisons show takedown requests related to gambling increased to 293,057 in 2025 from 196,510 in 2024, while requests related to scams, including fake accounts and impersonation, rose to 102,113 last year from 66,507 the year before.

For offensive content, takedown requests rose to 42,027 in 2025 from 19,344 in 2024.

She said that from 2022 until March 1 this year, 576,269 takedown requests related to gambling were recorded, while 197,120 requests involved scams, including fake accounts and impersonation, and 69,541 were related to offensive content.

Teo said the final decision to remove harmful online content by service providers is guided by complaints received, platform community guidelines and applicable local laws.

She said issues such as online scams, identity theft and data breaches generally fall under the jurisdiction of enforcement agencies such as the police, the National Cybersecurity Agency and the Personal Data Protection Department under the relevant acts.

However, she said MCMC also plays a role by providing technical assistance to other enforcement agencies, including supplying information and conducting digital forensic analysis to support investigations.

Teo added that MCMC carries out proactive monitoring and enforcement actions against parties responsible for spreading harmful online content, such as scams and identity theft, in line with the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) and the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866). – Bernama