The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has identified and sought the removal of 345,712 harmful online contents since Jan 1 as it turns to agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up enforcement against digital threats.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said processing each takedown request remains labour-intensive, requiring supporting documents and legal justification before action can be taken.
“Based on an average of 30 minutes per application, MCMC has spent the equivalent of 19.7 years of working time filing requests since the start of the year,” he said during parliamentary sitting today.
Fahmi said MCMC is now evaluating the use of agentic AI to automate parts of the detection and filing process, allowing the regulator to respond more quickly to harmful online content.
He, however, said the burden should not fall solely on MCMC, arguing that social media platforms must do more to prevent such content from appearing in the first place.
According to Fahmi, 91% of all takedown requests involved recurring online gambling and scam-related content uploaded and promoted by cybercriminals through paid advertisements.
He said many platforms have been slow to act despite repeated complaints from both MCMC and the public.
Fahmi expressed hope that the Online Safety Act 2025 and its subsidiary regulations would compel social media platforms to proactively detect and remove harmful content.
