Malaysia just forced all the big social media apps into its licensing system without asking first. The communications regulator said anything with eight million users or more gets auto-registered as a licensed service provider, which means WhatsApp, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube are all getting roped in whether they like it or not.
The whole point is making these platforms follow local rules and keep sketchy content away from kids, but the government insists they can keep running their services normally. They are using some legal trick that skips the application process and just declares everyone licensed automatically.
A few apps had already signed up voluntarily earlier, but Meta and Google were dragging their feet on the paperwork. X tried claiming they do not hit the user threshold, which seems pretty sus for a platform that size.
The whole point is making these platforms follow local rules and keep sketchy content away from kids, but the government insists they can keep running their services normally. They are using some legal trick that skips the application process and just declares everyone licensed automatically.
A few apps had already signed up voluntarily earlier, but Meta and Google were dragging their feet on the paperwork. X tried claiming they do not hit the user threshold, which seems pretty sus for a platform that size.
