MCMC Urges Uniform SLAs, 'Safety By Design' To Tackle Online Harms

By Nabilah Saleh & Soon Li Wei

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 (Bernama) -- Social media and digital platforms must be held accountable through uniform service level agreements (SLAs) and "safety by design" principles to ensure user protection, especially for children and minors, said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

MCMC Senior Advisor (Operations) Datuk Zurkarnain Mohd Yasin said safety and security must remain the top priority as technologies advance, cautioning that any digital ecosystem is only as sound as the protections put in place.

"When you're talking about the digital space, first and foremost, it is safety and security. We're not talking about just adults who are online; there is also the issue of children, underage minors, who are also online.

"A house is only as strong as the foundation and the walls that we have built. We have laws in place, but at the same time, that is only effective if enforcement is strict," he said in an interview in conjunction with M360 ASEAN 2026 here. 

Zurkarnain explained that when the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998) was enacted, application services were exempted from licensing to spur participation, foster inclusivity, and encourage technological innovation.

However, he said the velocity of technological disruption and emerging online harms including scams, fraud, and the illicit sale of contraband and banned substances, have necessitated regulatory intervention.

"Regulators typically only intervene from an economic perspective when there is market failure. But in this aspect, I wouldn't say there's a failure, but there is a need to have guardrails against abuses or the abuse of influence.

"We have seen how algorithms make us addictive; that is not safety by design. So, we need to have some principles and bring these platforms under the regulatory framework to make it happen," he said.

He noted that bringing platforms under the regulatory framework alone is not enough, adding that the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA) officially came into force on Jan 1, 2026 to place greater responsibility on platforms to address online harms, particularly nine identified categories of harm.

Touching on compliance discrepancies, Zurkarnain revealed that MCMC had submitted 7,133 content removal requests concerning the sale of illicit drugs, but compliance rates varied noticeably across platforms.

He added that Telegram recorded a 100 per cent compliance rate, followed by TikTok at 99 per cent and Facebook at 92 per cent.

"The influence is at their end. We just make the request. But if there is no certainty or if the levels of compliance are unbalanced, it also creates imbalances in terms of enforcement.

"What we are looking forward to is having the same level playing field and the same SLAs applied across platforms," he said, reiterating that platforms must proactively use their systems to protect users.

Zurkarnain stressed that long-term platform viability hinges on user trust, warning that unchecked scams would drive people away while reiterating the need to foster a trusted digital ecosystem without stifling technological innovation.

M360 ASEAN 2026, organised by the GSMA on Sept 9 and 10, brings together ministers, regulators and industry leaders to discuss digital trust, artificial intelligence, resilient infrastructure and regional digital integration.

The event, held for the first time in the ASEAN region and in Malaysia, is endorsed by the Ministry of Communications, with MCMC as the host partner.

-- BERNAMA