Malaysia to warn TikTok, Meta over alleged blocking of pro-Palestinian content

The country’s communications minister says Malaysians have a right to freedom of speech regarding the Palestinian cause and the right will not be taken away

A TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken Jan 6, 2020. REUTERS

Malaysia's communications regulator will issue a warning to social media firms Tiktok and Meta for allegedly blocking pro-Palestinian content on their platforms, its communications minister said on Thursday.

"If this issue is ignored, I will not hesitate to take a very firm approach and stance," Fahmi Fadzil said in a posting on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Without elaborating, Fahmi said many parties had urged the government to take firm action against social media platforms for allegedly restricting pro-Palestinian content.

Representatives of Tiktok and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Fahmi said Malaysians have a right to freedom of speech regarding the Palestinian cause, adding that right will not be taken away.

The concerns come two weeks after Fahmi said TikTok had not complied fully with Malaysia's laws and had not done enough to curb defamatory or misleading content. TikTok in a response said it would take proactive measures to address the issues raised.