What laws govern the removal of harmful online content?

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Laws Governing the Removal of Harmful Online Content

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) enforces content removal based on existing legal frameworks, primarily the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) and the more recently enforced Online Safety Act (Act 866). These acts mandate licensed application and content application service providers to regulate harmful online material.

Since the enforcement of Act 866 on January 1, 2026, MCMC has issued requests for the removal of six instances of pornographic content, all of which were subsequently taken down by the service providers. This reflects a proactive approach in addressing online harms. Between January 1, 2022, and March 3, MCMC had requested the removal of 6,481 pieces of pornographic content from online platforms. Of these requests, platform providers successfully removed 5,203 items, representing 80% of the total.

In addition to content removal, platform providers have also been instrumental in blocking access to harmful websites. During the aforementioned period from January 1, 2022, to March 3, MCMC's requests led to the blocking of 4,380 pornographic websites by these platforms. The process of content removal and website blocking by service providers is executed in accordance with their established community guidelines and the application of Malaysian laws. The government is also exploring new legislative measures to prosecute local developers of such applications or websites, while acknowledging the complexities of international cooperation required for foreign websites.

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What laws govern the removal of harmful online content?

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