Latest news with #digitalregulation
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Fahmi, Azalina to collaborate on tightening social media regulation
KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has expressed his readiness to hold further discussions with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, to strengthen the regulation of social media platforms in Malaysia. Fahmi said the meeting is vital following Azalina's recent proposal to amend existing laws, including requiring parents and guardians to monitor their children's online behaviour and participate in digital safety awareness and education programmes. He said that these measures will take into account the experience and approaches of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Ministry of Communications in handling various issues related to digital platforms and social media in the country. 'I will be meeting Datuk Seri Azalina to explore possible ways, based on MCMC's and the Ministry's experience dealing with social media platforms, on what we can do,' Fahmi told reporters after the Hawana 2025-Bernama Strategic Partners' Appreciation Ceremony and Official Launch of Bernama Motorhome at Wisma Bernama here yesterday. Present were Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, as well as Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj, who is also Hawana 2025 project director. Elaborating, Fahmi said that the Online Safety Act (OnSA) 2024, which is set to be enforced soon, will grant MCMC the authority to take action against social media platforms that fail to fulfil their obligations. 'So, we will look at the best ways to assist the Law Minister in the implementation and drafting of the legislation she mentioned,' he added. — Bernama
The Verge
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Verge
US will ban foreign officials to punish countries for social media rules
The US State Department has launched its latest rebuke against Europe and other countries over their attempts to regulate digital platforms. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the US would restrict visas for 'foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States.' He called it 'unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil' and 'for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States.' It's not yet clear how or against whom the policy will be enforced, but seems to implicate Europe's Digital Services Act, a law that came into effect in 2023 with the goal of making online platforms safer by imposing requirements on the largest platforms around removing illegal content and providing transparency about their content moderation. Though it's not mentioned directly in the press release about the visa restrictions, the Trump administration has slammed the law on multiple occasions, including in remarks earlier this year by Vice President JD Vance. It's 'unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies' The State Department's homepage currently links to an article on its official Substack, where senior advisor for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Samuel Samson critiques the DSA as a tool to 'silence dissident voices through Orwellian content moderation.' He adds that, 'Independent regulators now police social media companies, including prominent American platforms like X, and threaten immense fines for non-compliance with their strict speech regulations.' Though President Donald Trump has claimed to take actions to crack down on censorship domestically, some moves by his administration have threatened to limit speech within the US. Government websites and institutions that rely on government funding have scrubbed words associated with diversity to avoid his wrath, and The White House cut The Associated Press' access to press briefings when the outlet declined to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. 'We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty,' Rubio says in the announcement, 'especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech.'
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Congress has so far failed': Former surgeon general warns about social media risks for youth
Warning that the absence of regulation has created a dangerous digital environment for the country's youth, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is calling on Congress to take action on social media safeguards for children. His remarks come as lawmakers work to push forward President Donald Trump's megabill — a sweeping legislative package with implications for immigration, defense and health care — but with limited attention to online safety or tech regulation. 'It's the equivalent of putting our kids in cars with no seat belts, with no airbags, and having them drive on roads with no speed limits and no traffic lights,' said Murthy, who served under former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, during an interview on NBC's 'Meet the Press' that aired on Sunday. 'And that is just morally unacceptable. I think Congress has so far failed in its responsibility to protect our kids.' Efforts to establish rules for platforms popular among young people, like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, have long stalled amid industry lobbying and political gridlock. A law requiring TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese-owned parent company or be banned in the United States took effect in January. However, Trump signed an executive order upon his return to office that delayed the law's enforcement by 75 days and granted the app a second reprieve last month. The president has praised the app for engaging young people with his presidential campaign. Murthy raised concerns about the effect of technology on adolescent mental health, citing escalating loneliness, disappearing in-person friendships and a culture of self-comparison online. For a solution, Murthy called on Congress to implement 'real safety standards' for social media platforms, including issuing warning labels for them 'so that parents and kids are aware of the risks.' Murthy also stressed the importance of increasing data transparency requirements for platforms, comparing the measure to the historical precedent of auto safety laws. 'Researchers routinely say they can't get the full data about the impact of these platforms on our kids' health from the companies,' Murthy said. 'But just like we did for cars a few decades ago, we'll be putting safety standards that got us seat belts, airbags, crash testing and those have reduced the number of deaths.' Murthy recommended that parents wait until their children are at least in middle school before allowing them to have social media accounts. For children already using the platforms, he advised parents to establish tech-free zones in their households. 'But it's not too late,' Murthy said, referring to Congress. 'They need to step up and act now.'
South China Morning Post
19-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Amid furore, Brazil's first lady defends TikTok remarks at China state dinner hosted by Xi
Brazil 's first lady on Monday defended remarks she made about short-video app TikTok during a state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a move that departed from diplomatic convention and sparked furore in the South American country. Advertisement Acknowledging that she broke protocol during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's visit to Beijing last week , Rosangela 'Janja' da Silva said she 'will not be silenced' when the safety of children is at stake. The remarks she uttered in Beijing prompted an official response from TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance The formal dinner in which Xi hosted Lula and select Brazilian officials was not meant to include any official speeches, but the Brazilian president raised the topic of regulating digital platforms and asked if China could send an envoy to Brasilia to discuss the issue. According to the Brazilian news website G1, Janja then asked to speak – a move said to have surprised even Brazilian aides – and criticised TikTok for 'allowing harmful content to flourish'. The first lady cited the death of an eight-year-old Brazilian girl who had inhaled aerosol during a so-called 'deodorant challenge' that circulated on the app.
