Instagram S Removal Of Pm S Post Proof Against Excessive Interference Lawyer

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A lawyer has argued that Instagram’s parent company Meta’s move to take down a post from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s account is proof of why there should not be “excessive” government interference in social media regulations.
Taking to X, Eric Paulsen cited the Prime Minister’s Office’s (PMO) criticism of Meta, stressing, “That is why we must value freedom of expression for everyone.”
“We cannot allow excessive interference or unjustifiable content moderation in social media,” Paulsen (above) said.
Anwar’s post featured him meeting the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in May.
The removal notification from Instagram stated that the post contained “symbols, praise, or support of people and organisations that we define as dangerous”.
Earlier today, it was reported that Ismail was killed in his residence in Tehran, Iran.
On June 6, Reuters reported that a former Meta engineer had accused the company of bias in its handling of content related to the war in Gaza, claiming in a lawsuit that Meta fired him for trying to help fix bugs causing the suppression of Palestinian Instagram posts.
Greater transparency in content moderation
Centre for Independent Journalism executive director Wathshlah Naidu said one of the key issues involves AI and “algorithmic bias” in content moderation.
“What we need from social media platforms is more transparency in their content moderation and takedown practices, specifically transparency on the use of AI,” she told Malaysiakini today.
“This would require timely and systematic content filtering and takedown without political and business bias.
“Social media platforms will also have to invest in adequate human and language detection resources to go beyond automated flagging or using AI to detect harmful content,” she said.
Additionally, Wathshlah said any appeal process or oversight body must be assessable and timely to protect the right to freedom of expression.
Rather than move forward with the government’s proposal to impose a licensing condition on social media companies, she said all parties, including government and civil society, should engage the platforms towards introducing a collaborative accountability mechanism.
Centre for Independent Journalism executive director Wathshlah Naidu“Another consideration for Malaysia is to leverage the collective Asean market and propose a regional framework and mechanism to hold platforms accountable,” she added.
This is not the first time posts by Malaysian parties featuring Hamas have been removed.
Posts on Anwar meeting Ismail were taken down previously but later restored, with Meta stating they were “removed in error”. - Mkini

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