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Malaysia Puts TikTok on Notice Over ‘Offensive’ Posts About Country’s King

An account bearing the name “Sultan Ibrahim Ismail” allegedly disseminated AI-generated videos and manipulated images that defamed the monarchy.

Malaysia has ordered the social media platform TikTok to take “immediate” steps to improve how it regulates harmful content following the circulation of what it said were “grossly offensive” posts about the country’s king.

In a statement yesterday, The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said that TikTok had failed to “take sufficient and timely action” to moderate what it said was defamatory content about Sultan Ibrahim, the current monarch.

The action was initiated due to an account purported to be linked to the king, which disseminated material that was “grossly offensive, false, menacing, and insulting in nature, including AI-generated videos and manipulated images,” the MCMC said. All of these contravened Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

“Despite prior notifications and engagements, TikTok’s moderation response to the content has been found unsatisfactory, particularly in ensuring prompt removal and preventing further dissemination of harmful material,” the MCMC stated.

The agency added that it had issued a “statutory demand” requiring TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, to take immediate steps to enforce stronger measures against harmful content, and to provide “a formal explanation regarding its moderation failures.”

The TikTok account in question, which operated under the name “Sultan Ibrahim Ismail,” produced insulting content targeting the King, the Royal Press Office (RPO) said in a statement earlier this week.

“The allegations constitute a serious insult made with malicious intent, and are highly sensitive given that His Majesty is a Malay Ruler and Head of State who professes the religion of Islam,” the RPO stated, according to the New Straits Times. It also called on “the relevant authorities to act swiftly.”

Malaysia, like many of its neighbors, has taken a robust position toward the regulation of social media networks in recent years, to prevent what it claims has been a rise in harmful and disruptive content, including online gambling, pornography, and posts related to the so-called “3Rs”: race, religion, and royalty.

This is not the first time that Malaysia has taken aim at TikTok,........

© The Diplomat