Malaysia considers whether LinkedIn needs social media license

(Bloomberg) — Malaysia is studying whether LinkedIn Corp. needs a social media license to continue operating in the country as the government seeks to expand internet controls.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said he has asked the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to review whether LinkedIn’s number of users in Malaysia exceeds the licensing threshold of eight million and whether they are considered a social media platform.

“We may contact LinkedIn,” Fahmy told a news conference in Putrajaya on Wednesday.

Malaysia joins governments across Asia in efforts to crack down on online platforms and hold big tech companies accountable for illegal content. Officials from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi and Canberra are increasingly looking for ways to regulate or limit social media, which can influence public opinion on politically sensitive issues.

According to the MCMC, the social media license requirement came into effect this year in an effort to combat rising cases of cybercrime, including online fraud and gambling, as well as cyberbullying and sexual crimes against children.

ByteDance’s TikTok, Telegram and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat have already obtained social media licenses, Fahmy said. He said Meta Platforms Inc., which owns WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, was still submitting follow-up documents to authorities and expected to issue them a license “soon.”

The Malaysian government is still in discussions with Elon Musk’s X and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube whether the two platforms need licenses to continue operating in the country. He added that X denied it had more than 8 million users, while YouTube said it did not meet the definition of social media.

Fahmi said YouTube Shorts (a product within YouTube) is similar to TikTok. “There’s an element of sharing, of commenting,” he said.

He said Malaysian authorities are checking whether YouTube can explain how many users they have and whether they plan to move YouTube Shorts to other apps soon.

“We give them a little time,” Fahmy said. “If there is any illegal content, we can still contact the platform for further action.”

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