KUALA LUMPUR – Grab Malaysia has distanced itself from the Asia Internet Coalition’s (AIC) open letter addressed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim regarding the government’s plans to require licences from major social media platforms and instant messaging services.
In a statement released yesterday evening, Grab clarified that the proposed regulatory framework for social media and internet messaging platforms in Malaysia does not affect its operations.
This statement comes in response to the AIC’s open letter, which urged the Malaysian government to halt its plans to license social media platforms.
Although Grab’s name was mentioned in the open letter, the company said it “was not informed nor consulted” on the matter.
“The proposed regulation does not impact our operations and therefore we had no part in it. We did not and are not commenting on the matter,” Grab said.
The company reiterated its commitment to collaborating with the government, aligning with its mission to contribute to the country’s development.
The AIC, an organisation representing various tech giants, including Grab, reportedly sent an open letter to Anwar, calling for a delay in implementing the new regulations set to begin next year.
On August 21, the Communications Ministry guaranteed that obtaining a licence for social media platforms to operate in Malaysia would be a straightforward process.
Minister Fahmi Fadzil said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has indicated that the licensing procedure should be completed within three to five working days.
He mentioned that the ministry anticipates receiving licensing applications from social media platform providers around October or November this year.
“We want to reassure social media platform providers that the process for obtaining a ‘Class Licence’ is much simpler than that of an ‘Individual Licence’.
“While an ‘Individual Licence’ might take several months to process, MCMC has confirmed that a ‘Class Licence’ will be processed within three to five working days,” he said during a press conference here today.
The regulatory framework for social media services, which was introduced on August 1 and will come into effect next year, does not apply to individual users of these platforms.
On July 27, MCMC announced that all social media and internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a Class Licence for the Provision of Application Services under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).
In addition, Fahmi mentioned that his ministry is actively engaging with relevant parties regarding the licensing of social media services and the development of a code of conduct for social media platforms. – August 27, 2024