SEPANG, Aug 27 — The Unity Government has no plan to delay or postpone the implementation of the regulatory framework or the licensing requirement for social media and Internet messaging app service providers which is slated to take effect on Jan 1 next year.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the implementation of the licensing framework will proceed as scheduled to achieve the government's aspiration and proactive measures to protect the interests and safety of users.

"We will not delay,” he said in response to the open letter by the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim concerning the matter recently.

It was reported that in the open letter posted on the group’s website, AIC urged the government to postpone the plan to make license applications mandatory for all social media and Internet messaging services that have at least eight million registered users in the country.

The AIC, which is made up of Google, Meta, X, Apple Inc, Amazon and Grab, claimed that the proposed licensing regime was "unworkable” for the industry and could stifle innovation by placing undue burdens on businesses. — Bernama