Malaysia considering legal action against Meta over fake royal accounts
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Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the government was studying possible legal action against social media platforms that fail to address the issue.
PHOTO: FAHMI FADZIL/FACEBOOK
MELAKA – The Malaysian government is disappointed with Meta’s failure to effectively curb and remove fake social media accounts impersonating members of royal families on its platforms, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said the matter had been raised several times with the technology giant, but the action taken thus far remained unsatisfactory.
The government, he added, was now studying possible legal action against social media platforms that failed to address the issue, including through the Online Safety Act (ONSA).
“I have issued several warnings to Meta, but they appear to show little respect for the Malay rulers and I am very disappointed,” he said.
“They must understand that the royal institution in this country is extremely important, enshrined in the Federal Constitution and must be respected, including by international platforms such as Facebook,” he told reporters after attending the Hang Tuah Jaya Parliamentary SPM 2025 Excellent Students Awards ceremony in Ayer Keroh here on May 9.
The event was opened by Deputy Higher Education Minister and MP for Hang Tuah Jaya, Adam Adli Abd Halim.
Mr Fahmi was commenting on the discovery of 15,296 fake accounts using the identities of 26 royal family members between January and April 2026, based on monitoring by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and public complaints.
In a Facebook post on May 8, Mr Fahmi said the fake accounts also involved Selangor ruler, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Tengku Permaisuri of Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin.
Mr Fahmi said ONSA is expected to be fully enforced once several related codes were gazetted.
“We will study several measures, including legal action against platforms that continue to fail in curbing the existence of fake accounts, especially those involving the Malay rulers.”
Mr Fahmi said penalties under ONSA could include fines of up to RM1 million (S$324,000) and a daily fine of RM100,000, with heavier penalties reaching RM10 million depending on the offence committed.
Meanwhile, he said the ministry is alarmed by the high volume of online gambling and scam-related material detected on social media platforms.
He added that more than 230,000 online gambling and scam-related posts had been taken down by the MCMC between Jan 1 and May 6. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
