Members of Parliament have called for tougher penalties and swifter enforcement against the spread of pornographic deepfake content generated using artificial intelligence during the debate on the Cyber Crime Bill 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Datuk Abdul Khalib Abdullah (PN-Rompin) proposed mandatory caning for those responsible for creating or distributing obscene deepfake content, saying existing penalties of fines or up to five years’ imprisonment were insufficient given the lasting psychological harm suffered by victims.
“(The proposed) fine or five-year prison sentence needs to be increased. Rompin proposes that offenders involved in pornographic deepfakes be subjected to mandatory caning because the psychological impact on victims is lifelong trauma,” he said.
He also proposed establishing a national facial recognition system integrated with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to enable authorities to swiftly identify and block fake social media accounts involved in identity theft.
Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Bukit Bendera) urged the government to introduce emergency blocking orders requiring social media platforms to remove harmful content within hours, especially when children are involved.
“A child should not have to beg on the Internet for their image to be taken down. Our country must act and move faster than the algorithm,” she said.
Meanwhile, Datuk Siti Aminah Aching (Beaufort) proposed an automated post-police report mechanism linking enforcement agencies to reduce delays and ease the burden on scam victims.
She said follow-up action by the police, MCMC and the National Scam Response Centre should be integrated to ensure faster and more effective enforcement.
