KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Starting January 1, 2025, social media and internet media services who meet certain criteria must be licensed.

In a statement, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said the new directive is due to the Malaysian Cabinet decision that sites such as Facebook and messaging apps (WeChat, WhatsApp) must comply with Malaysian laws "to combat the rise in cybercrime offences including scams and online fraud, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes against children.”

Such services with at least eight million users must apply for a Class Licence for Application Service Providers under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588) from August 1.

Failure to comply will be deemed an offence under Act 588.

MCMC also said the new framework will only apply to services and not their users, who may continue to use the services as usual.