80 pct of 6,481 pornographic content removed following MCMC requests, says Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR (March 3): The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has requested the removal of 6,481 pornographic content from online platform providers between Jan 1, 2022, and last Sunday.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said that 5,203 items, or 80 per cent of the total, have been taken down by platform providers.

“The removal of content by these service providers is carried out based on complaints received, in accordance with the providers’ community guidelines and the application of existing local laws,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara today.

He was responding to a question from Senator Mohd Hasbie Muda, who had asked about the government’s new measures to curb the widespread availability of pornographic websites.

Fahmi added that during the same period, platform providers blocked 4,380 pornographic websites following MCMC’s requests.

He said that to ensure comprehensive online safety, the government has enforced the Online Safety Act (Act 866) since Jan 1, 2026, which requires licensed application and content application service providers under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) to regulate harmful online content.

“Since Act 866 took effect, MCMC has requested the removal of six pornographic contents, all of which were taken down by service providers,” he said.

On public awareness, he noted the Safe Internet Campaign has reached 472,066 students across 9,383 schools and higher education institutions. Another 554 programmes engaged 426,381 participants nationwide from 2025 to March 1.

Responding to a supplementary question on eliminating access to pornographic websites, Fahmi said the government is identifying the best mechanism to implement such restrictions.

“The ideal approach involves new laws to prosecute local developers of such applications or websites in court. For foreign websites, we need international cooperation, which presents challenges.

“Thus, the best course is for us to lead by example, within our families, communities, and parties, to refrain from normalising the viewing of such websites,” he said. – Bernama