KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Major social media and messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, will be automatically registered under a Malaysian licensing framework beginning Jan 1, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced today.
MCMC said the move is designed to bring large-scale service providers with eight million or more users in Malaysia under the country’s legal and regulatory oversight, strengthening accountability and compliance with local laws.
The new rule ensures that these global platforms bear clearer responsibility for user safety, particularly in safeguarding children and families from harmful content.
The initiative will ensure that the platforms operate within Malaysia’s legal framework in an “orderly, consistent and effective manner,” the regulator explained.
However, the commission clarified that the service providers involved will “continue to operate their global platform as usual.”
Instead of requiring each company to apply for a new licence, the MCMC is using a “Deeming Provision” under the Communications and Multimedia Act.
This legal mechanism automatically considers any platform that meets the eight-million-user threshold to be registered as an Applications Service Provider Class (ASP(C)) licensee.
Platforms that are already registered will have the new provision take effect once their existing registration expires.
MCMC said this approach aligns with international practices for regulating large-scale online platforms and is a continuation of a licensing framework that was first enforced last Jan 1.
The commission added that it will continue to work closely with service providers to strengthen online safety for all users in Malaysia.
Three social media platforms had successfully obtained ASP(C) licences as of July 1: WeChat International Private Limited, TikTok Private Limited, and Telegram Messenger Incorporated.
Meta platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, along with Google's YouTube were said to pending licensing, while X (now Twitter) insisted it did not meet the user threshold.
