KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 ― The charge for sharing or disseminating of obscene content recorded the highest offence filed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in court for the period between January to September this year.

MCMC, in a statement today, said the charge for sharing obscene content involved 22 out of 34 charges involving offences under Section 233 of the Communications and Mutimedia Act 1998.

This was then followed by offensive content (nine charges) and false content (three charges), it said.

It said there were also 14 charges filed under the Penal Code and the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and the offences were committed through Facebook,Twitter, Whatsapp, Instagram and blog.

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The increase in the number of charges shows MCMC's firmness in dealing with social media abuse, apart from ensuring a safe and secure Internet environment, it said.

For the first nine months of this year, MCMC said, it received a total of 178 First Information Reports on offences pertaining to social media abuse, compared to 139 received during the corresponding period last year.

MCMC said sharing or dissemination of false, offensive, and threatening content is an offence under Section 233 of the  Communications and Mutimedia Act 1998.

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Those found guilty face a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to a year, or both, it said. ― Bernama