January 2, 2025 – According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Elon Musk’s X platform and Google, which operates the video streaming platform YouTube under its Alphabet umbrella, have not yet applied for a social media operating license under the new Malaysian law that took effect on Wednesday.
MCMC reports that X has indicated its user base in Malaysia has not reached the 800,000 threshold required for a license. The commission is currently verifying this claim. (Note: Early in 2024, X reported having 571,000 users in Malaysia.)
Meanwhile, Google, which owns YouTube, is engaged in negotiations with the MCMC to address concerns regarding the video-sharing functionality of its platform and licensing classifications. The commission stated that it has discussed the raised issues and will ensure that YouTube and related platforms understand their responsibilities.
MCMC also mentioned that Chinese platforms WeChat and ByteDance’s TikTok have led other technology giants by signing up under the new rules, while Telegram is in the final stages of the process.
“Meta, which oversees Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has initiated the licensing procedure and is expected to finalize it soon,” MCMC stated.
In July 2024, the MCMC announced that social media platforms with over 800,000 users in Malaysia must acquire a license to operate in the country by January 1, 2025.
The commission believes this is necessary to combat cybercrimes, including fraud, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes against children, citing lax attitudes towards such content by platform operators. However, the commission did not specify penalties for violations.
