Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said the task force would include officers from his own ministry, the home ministry, the legal affairs division of the prime minister’s department and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Fahmi said this decision came after a meeting with home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Salim Fateh Din three days ago.
“The police require MCMC’s technical assistance for data preservation and profiling. So, we will establish this special task force in the coming days to thoroughly understand the issues faced by deputy public prosecutors.
“This includes, for instance, the issue of deepfake investigations, which is relatively new and may require cooperation (with other agencies) to understand the evidence, gather sufficient data and present it in court,” he said.
Fahmi spoke to reporters after visiting and handing over a personal donation to PR Puspa, the mother of the late social media influencer A Rajeswary, better known as Esha, at her home in Bandar Baru Ampang here today.
He said addressing prosecution aspects is crucial to avoid issues like the recent case where an individual was fined RM100 in a case linked to cyberbullying, which he found to be unsatisfactory.
It was reported that Esha was found dead in a condominium unit in Setapak here on July 5, a day after lodging a police report regarding the cyberbullying she was facing.
To tackle cyberbullying, Fahmi said, the ministry, particularly MCMC, is working to ensure the licensing process for social media platforms is implemented smoothly by Jan 1.
“We observe that those involved in cyberbullying often use fake accounts. We aim to reduce or eliminate these fake accounts in the future.
“Following my meeting with representatives from X, Meta, TikTok and WeChat in Singapore recently, they have expressed their willingness to be licensed.
“We are currently reviewing guidelines. From Aug 1 until the end of the year, MCMC will meet with all stakeholders, including social media platforms, to develop a code of conduct and standards for social media platforms,” he said.
Fahmi hopes with the licensing, social media platforms would be more responsible and take action in cases of cyberbullying, extremist content and illegal activities such as drug trafficking and online gambling.