KULAI, Feb 7 — Sponsored content promoting gambling and fraud, aimed at boosting reach to users, is raising concerns as such material has been widely detected on social media platforms, said Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

She said most of the content reported to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was identified as sponsored posts, with certain parties paying digital platforms to ensure the advertisements reached a larger audience.

Teo said that although the platforms agreed to remove the content after complaints were made, such action usually took place only after the material had already been displayed and reached users.

“The main issue right now is the question of initial screening. Why is content like this not filtered more effectively before being published and promoted, indirectly facilitating online fraud and gambling activities?” she told reporters after attending the Next Gen Luxury Coach handover ceremony in Senai today.

Teo said that in the first 15 days of this year alone, MCMC had removed 15,519 pieces of content related to online gambling and 5,241 pieces containing fraudulent elements, some of which were sponsored posts.

Accordingly, Teo said MCMC would use provisions under the Online Safety Act to ensure that platform providers classified as licensees fulfil their responsibilities more effectively, particularly in content assessment and approval processes.

She said the move aims to ensure harmful content is removed more quickly and to prevent it from being published in the first place.

Teo added that MCMC will continue to work closely with police in addressing online gambling and fraud issues, while encouraging the public to submit complaints through MCMC’s official channels.

“We want to ensure platforms are held accountable and do not allow content that is clearly harmful to exist in their digital spaces,” she said. — Bernama