Malaysia Issues Statutory Demand to TikTok Over Content Moderation Failures
May 21, 2026 – 8:46 am
The Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) of Malaysia has issued a formal statutory demand to TikTok over what regulators consider persistent failures to moderate offensive content on the platform, as reported by Reuters. This is the first visible enforcement action under the country’s Online Safety Act 2025, which came into force on January 1, 2026.
The demand stems from the deemed-licensing regime detailed in December 2025 by Bloomberg, under which large social media platforms with at least eight million Malaysian users (including TikTok, Meta, Telegram, and WeChat) are automatically treated as licensees under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Section 39 of the Online Safety Act allows the MCMC to impose a financial penalty of up to RM10 million on non-compliant providers, recoverable as a civil debt. The demand requires TikTok to submit a formal moderation plan with measurable headcount commitments and evidence compliance over a defined period.
The specific issue cited is the platform’s handling of Tamil-language live streaming and short-form video moderation. Between January and August 2025, the MCMC requested the removal of 86,732 TikTok videos, with an 86% removal rate. However, 10,730 videos remained untaken down.
This enforcement action is part of a broader international trend. Ofcom in the UK and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US are also issuing similar demands to platforms, focusing on child safety as a leading vector. Malaysia, with this demand, has become the most active regulator in Southeast Asia under Section 39-style provisions.