Most Of Online Gambling Content Removed Came From Facebook Says Fahmi

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Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said 5,026 gambling websites were blocked by internet service providers from 2022 to Feb 1, 2025. (Rawpixel pic)
PETALING JAYA: Some 93% of the 224,403 gambling-related content removed from various platforms originated from Facebook, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
Fahmi told the Dewan Rakyat that 209,006 gambling-related content were detected on the social networking site alone from 2022 to Feb 1 this year, Bernama reported.
“The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission had proactively monitored the platforms to ensure a safe online environment that was free of content that contravened the laws, including gambling,” he was quoted as saying.
He also said 5,026 gambling websites were blocked by internet service providers during the same period.
He was responding to Azahari Hasan (PN-Padang Rengas) who wanted to know what measures the ministry was taking to curb online gambling which was becoming more rampant.
Fahmi said that to ensure a safer online ecosystem, MCMC had made it compulsory for social media and messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia to obtain a licence from Jan 1.
He said such measures were aimed at ensuring these providers adhered to the requirements under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 or Act 588.
He said the policy was meant to increase accountability when it came to online content and interaction.
Earlier, Fahmi described the cooperation his ministry received from internet messaging and social media service providers as “good”, regardless of whether they had obtained a licence or were in the process of securing one.
He said YouTube removed 5,115 pieces of content, including gambling advertisements, The Edge reported him as saying.
“This shows that although Google is currently not licensed, we can see very good cooperation being given in contrast to Telegram, where overall, only 39% of the requests were handled,” he said. - FMT

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