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The Malaysian government has ordered TikTok to immediately tighten its content regulation following the spread of "grossly offensive" posts targeting the country's royal family.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said that the ByteDance-owned platform failed to act swiftly or effectively against a fake account spreading defamatory content about the current king, Sultan Ibrahim.
According to local media outlet The Star, social media users will need to verify their age with government-issued documents from June 1, following changes to the Online Safety Act 2025 by the MCMC.
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The content included material deemed "grossly offensive, false, menacing and insulting in nature, including AI-generated videos and manipulated images", the regulator said.
"The MCMC takes a serious view of any misuse of online platforms to disseminate content that is grossly offensive, false, menacing or detrimental to public order, particularly where it involves the institution of the king and the Malay rulers," it said in a statement.
"Such matters fall within the broader context of race, religion and royal issues, which are highly sensitive, undermines public order, national harmony and respect for constitutional institutions."
The regulator added that "despite prior notifications and engagements, TikTok's moderation response to the content has been found unsatisfactory, particularly in ensuring prompt removal and preventing further dissemination of harmful material."
The MCMC said it had issued a statutory demand requiring TikTok to take immediate steps to enforce stronger measures against harmful content.
"The issuance of the statutory demand requires TikTok to ... also provide a formal explanation regarding its moderation failures," the MCMC said.
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