Fahmi: Telegram urged to cooperate to tackle criminal activities

The Star

The internet messaging service provider, Telegram, has been urged to cooperate with the government in efforts to tackle criminal activities that have been widely using the platform, as recently highlighted by the United Nations (UN).  Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)  held a meeting with Telegram on Sept 18 and will continue discussions in efforts to address the issue.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00The criminal case in Southeast Asia is still in the Telegram.

00:04So, maybe you can explain it.

00:07Yes, I recently had a meeting with and a two-party meeting

00:12with the French Ambassador to Malaysia,

00:15Mr. Axel Kroh,

00:18and our discussion also touched on the issue

00:22of the actions taken by the French,

00:25the French court, against the Telegram party,

00:29Pavel Durov,

00:31who has developed the application.

00:34And, among the things that have been informed,

00:37and also known in general,

00:39the Telegram party is now more prepared to cooperate

00:43with the authorities,

00:46the police,

00:48and even the government,

00:49in several matters.

00:52I see that, indeed, today,

00:55several types of crimes are still prevalent on the Telegram platform,

01:00such as investment scams,

01:03such as drug trafficking,

01:07and also aspects such as pornography,

01:12and sexual crimes against children,

01:14sexual material involving children.

01:17So, there are several elements that we ask the Telegram party

01:22to cooperate more.

01:24And, at the moment,

01:26the MCMC has held a series of meetings with the Telegram party,

01:29and we closely follow what is happening in France,

01:34and we hope that the Telegram party will also cooperate.

01:38At the moment, the government is not eager to stop,

01:41to arrest any staff from any social media platforms,

01:46including the messaging system on the internet,

01:51such as Telegram,

01:53on the condition that they cooperate well.

01:58As we all know,

02:00as of January 1, 2025,

02:02all social media platforms and internet messaging systems

02:06that have more than 8 million users in Malaysia

02:11are required to be licensed by the MCMC.

02:16So, as we follow the development,

02:21whether in France or in Brazil,

02:24we have also tried to discuss with social media platforms

02:32to develop a code of conduct

02:34that will be prepared, the first draft,

02:38at the end of October,

02:40so that we can give time to all social media platforms

02:43to discuss and clarify the contents of this code of conduct,

02:50and we give them time for the remaining two months of this year

02:55to register with the MCMC.

02:58Failure to register,

03:00if they meet the requirements,

03:02then there are several legal actions that can be taken.

03:06When will you meet with Telegram?

03:08The MCMC will hold a meeting

03:11maybe in this month.

03:15It has already been held.

03:17And next?

03:18The meeting and discussion will continue.

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Transcript

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