Fahmi said Meta submitted the required documents yesterday and that the ministry was in the midst of processing them.

“It won’t be long (before they are licensed),” Fahmi told reporters after launching a WhatsApp chatbot to help users confirm the veracity of information on the platform.

The tool will be accessible through WhatsApp and available in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

Fahmi said the compliance status of other tech giants like Google, Microsoft – which owns LinkedIn – and X (formerly Twitter) is under review by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

“Several matters are being followed up on by MCMC regarding these companies,” he said.

The licensing process is part of Malaysia’s efforts to regulate online platforms and ensure compliance with local laws, including the handling of content moderation and user data.

While Google previously argued that it was not a social media platform, Fahmi said that certain parts of its YouTube platform functioned like social media, similar to TikTok.

On Jan 1, it was reported that Tencent (WeChat) and ByteDance (TikTok) had obtained licences to operate in Malaysia under the newly introduced licensing requirements for internet messaging service and social media service providers.

Social media and messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia are required to have the licence effective Jan 1.