Fahmi Meta Denies Suspending Mkini S Fb Pages Govt Not Behind It

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Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said neither his ministry nor the MCMC is responsible for the temporary suspension of two Facebook pages run by Malaysiakini yesterday.
Fahmi also claimed that Meta had informed him that it did not suspend Malaysiakini’s and KiniTV’s Facebook pages.
The suspension came hours after Malaysiakini published a report detailing a network of 263 Facebook accounts which engaged in a coordinated campaign to artificially boost support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“I wish to clarify that neither my side nor the MCMC received any complaints or filed any complaints regarding the report,” Fahmi said during a post-cabinet press conference in Putrajaya today.
“I don’t think Meta would lie. In fact, I’m late (to the press conference) because I had to verify some things with Meta.
“First, they did not take down any pages,” he added.
It was unclear whether Fahmi was referring to Malaysiakini’s pages or the cybertrooper accounts, which had vanished after the portal contacted Meta about its findings before publication.
Communications Minister Fahmi FadzilWhen contacted, one of Fahmi’s aides said that, to his understanding, the minister only discussed the suspension of Malaysiakini’s Facebook accounts with the social media provider.
During the press conference, Fahmi also alleged that Meta’s office in Singapore had told him that Malaysiakini did not ask any specific questions regarding the suspension of its pages.
Malaysiakini had learned of the suspension after a notice appeared on its Facebook account, alleging the portal had violated the social media platform’s guidelines on cybersecurity.
Mkini communicated with Meta
Contrary to Fahmi’s remarks, Malaysiakini had immediately contacted Meta representatives via WhatsApp and email enquiring about the page suspension and the reasons behind it.
At 6.48pm, a Meta representative replied to the email, which also acknowledged the WhatsApp message, saying they were looking into the matter.
Malaysiakini later received an email at 8.05pm informing that the pages were back up.
In a separate response to Malaysiakini’s exposé revealing the network of cybertroopers on Anwar’s Facebook, Meta had earlier said there was so far no sign of violations of its policies.
In the run-up to the publication of the report, the news portal sent a 12-page dossier detailing the findings of its investigation, the network’s tactics, and highlighted 13 high-priority accounts for further action by Meta.
The Prime Minister's Office had also denied any knowledge of or involvement with the network, stating there is “no basis or necessity” to direct the MCMC to investigate while affirming that no taxpayer funds were utilised for the operation.
Other ‘heavier situation’ to tackle
When asked today if he believes the support garnered by Anwar was truly authentic, Fahmi said the “heavier situation” at hand is identity verification issues faced by social media platforms.
The minister referenced a recent case where a 22-year-old lorry driver was arrested for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in Sungai Petani, Kedah after they met on social media.
“All social media platforms don’t allow children under 13 years of age to own an account, but what happens now is that (since) there is no eKYC (electronic Know-Your-Customer) on these platforms, there is no proper age verification,” Fahmi said.
As such, he reiterated his appeal for social media platform providers in Malaysia to implement eKYC verification - an initiative he previously said could be linked with government-issued documents such as MyKad, passport or MYDigital ID. - Mkini

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