TikTok faces scrutiny in Malaysia over fake news

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After TikTok recently shut down its ecommerce feature in Indonesia, the short-video app is now under fire in Malaysia due to an apparent spread of fake news on the platform.

Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysia’s minister of communication, said in a social media post that TikTok’s efforts to comply with the country’s regulations are “unsatisfactory.”

“I emphasized that TikTok must operate in accordance with Malaysia’s guidelines and laws,” Fadzil said in the post, which came after a meeting with representatives from the social media firm on Wednesday.

He added that TikTok acknowledged its shortcomings, blaming it on “the absence of a representative in Malaysia.” The company’s point person in the meeting was Helena Lersch, ByteDance’s Singapore-based vice president of public policy for emerging markets.

While the meeting also discussed TikTok Shop, Fadzil did not provide details in his post. However, Malaysia was reportedly considering a similar move to Indonesia’s ban of ecommerce transactions on social media platforms.

In response to the minister’s statement, a TikTok spokesperson said the platform respects local regulations and is committed to “taking proactive measures to address the issues raised.” The spokesperson added that the firm has organized follow-up meetings with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission next week.

Besides Malaysia, Vietnam is also probing TikTok’s operations due to the presence of “toxic” content on the platform.

See also: TikTok Shop ban in Indonesia: Who is it really protecting?