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Emmanuel Samarathisa · · 4 min readTikTok walks a tightrope in Malaysia as officials step up rhetoric
Photo credit: 123rf
TikTok has had an interesting October.
Early this month, the social media platform ran branded content on Malaysian business publication The Edge extolling the virtues of the creator economy and TikTok’s role in it.
The platform highlighted, among others, the success story of Khairul Aming, a social media influencer and entrepreneur who won an award at the Malaysian chapter of this year’s TikTok Shop Summit.
A few weeks later, the mood darkened.
Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil summoned representatives from the short-video app to air his grouses.
Joining Fahmi was Salim Fateh, chairman of Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which is the industry regulator and falls under the purview of Fahmi’s ministry.
Fahmi told TikTok representatives his concerns over disinformation and misinformation on the platform.
He also voiced his concerns over TikTok Shop after receiving reports of predatory pricing from sellers.
TikTok’s compliance with Malaysian law had been “unsatisfactory,” the minister said. Representatives from the company attributed weaknesses to the “absence of a representative in Malaysia,” added Fahmi.
A TikTok representative tells Tech in Asia that they had follow-up meetings with MCMC “to demonstrate our commitment” in addressing the problems raised by the government.
More recently, Fahmi claimed TikTok censored Palestinian content and summoned representatives from the company for a meeting yesterday. He even said that TikTok “has started to get ‘cuak’ [Malay for nervous] as we will be meeting their parent company” after attending Palestinian solidarity rally on Tuesday.
TikTok “irritated” government officials
The app’s popularity in Malaysia is due to how “open” its algorithm is, a Kuala Lumpur-based social media consultant tells Tech in Asia. The chances of being discovered on TikTok are significantly higher than on Facebook, Instagram, and X, which require users to pay to boost their posts, the consultant says.
Tightening the screws
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