November 28, 2023
KUALA LUMPUR – Due to the seriousness of cyberbullying on social media, a specific anti-cyberbullying law is being considered to address the issue, says Teo Nie Ching.
The Deputy Communications and Digital Minister said that the issue of cyberbullying, especially among the youth, cannot be taken lightly.
“Therefore, I agree with the proposal that an anti-cyberbullying law should be enacted.
“However, the matter should be discussed with the relevant stakeholders first and determine which ministry is the most suitable to bring the Bill in parliament,” she said in reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) during Ministers’ Question Time.
Mas Ermieyati had asked the ministry whether it was prepared to enact a specific anti-bullying law to address the issue of cyberbullying more effectively, especially among students.
Citing a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund, she said that Malaysia ranks second in Asia in 2020 for cyberbullying among youths, indicating that cyberbullying is becoming an increasingly prominent problem in the country.
According to Teo, a total of 1,147 contents involving cyberbullying and harassment have been removed between Jan 1 and Nov 15 this year, following close cooperation among various authorities including the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and social media providers.
From the total, the most content that was removed was from TikTok with a total of 804 items.
This is followed by Facebook (195), platform X (seven), YouTube (nine), Instagram (nine) as well as other sites (123).