Malaysia calls out Meta over scam and illegal-gambling ads: nearly US$60M lost since 2023, licences for platforms with 8M+ users and online-harm ratings.
News Brief
Recently, a foreign news outlet reported on something that made the Malaysian government blow up: the Malaysian government called out Meta Platforms (yes, the company behind Facebook and Instagram) — saying your platform is making dirty money!
According to the report, these ads mostly lure people into clicking with slogans like "get rich quick" and "investment returns," but actually lead to illegal gambling websites or scam pages. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) pointed out that since 2023, Malaysian internet users have lost nearly US$60 million to social media scams, and the report further estimates that Meta may have profited by as much as US$7–16 billion from them!
Officials believe this isn’t just an ad-review problem but a matter of platform ethics and responsibility. MCMC has already made its position clear: in future, all social media platforms with more than 8 million users may be required to apply for an operating licence, or face fines or even jail. In addition, they are preparing to launch a "public safety and online harm rating system" — meaning they’ll give the major platforms a score to see whether you’re actually safe or not.
Meta hurried to defend itself as soon as it heard:
"This report is misleading — we’ve been fighting scams all along!"
But the problem is, the money all went into your pocket — you say you weren’t involved, who’s going to believe that? Once this came out, regulators across Asia started getting nervous, afraid their own countries would see the same situation of "ads hanging up a sheep’s head while scams sell dog meat."
Andy's Chit-Chat
You know, this whole thing is like a village fair: old man Meta goes up and pounds his chest saying, "I’m here to serve the villagers!" Then he turns around and finds the stalls are full of people selling fake medicine, running gambling games and pimping… Oh dear, the scene is as awkward as choking on a sip of plain cold water.
Unlicensed platforms: the little cleverness of squeezing through the crack
Actually, if you talk about these unlicensed gambling platforms, they don’t all have bad intentions. They originally just wanted to promote some business, but it was hard to even find an ad slot. Then Meta, the old Buddha, softened up — "Oh well, fine, I’ll open a little crack for you" — and as soon as this bunch saw the opportunity, they all rushed in with a whoosh! But as luck would have it, a few scammers — "kings of fishing in troubled waters" — mixed in and burned the whole pot of soup. Now look: the government sees the situation and says, "Whether you sell lottery tickets or fake medicine, you all get scooped out of the pot together!" Now even the grey platforms that wanted to do some honest business have to shrink back and cry.
The unluckiest: the proper, licensed bunch
The ones most wronged are those licensed, legitimate platforms that pay taxes more diligently than anyone. Normally they’re perfectly well-behaved — KYC, AML and compliance reports, not one item missed; even when staff buy milk tea they have to get a receipt. Who knew that this time Meta’s wild move would drag them all into the water? Check the ad slots and they’re full of gambling keywords; regulators take one look and, without telling right from wrong, bundle them all into the "high-risk list." It’s like you work the early shift every day and pay your social insurance, and then the neighbour steals electricity and the whole building’s power gets cut — isn’t that unfair? Now these legitimate platforms can only grit their teeth and spend even more money proving their innocence: "Hey! We really aren’t scammers! We pay taxes!" But who believes them? Players are already uneasy: "Your ad isn’t fake too, is it?"
In one line
This thing is like scrubbing in the bathhouse without working out who’s dirty and who’s clean, and scrubbing everyone together. Meta really scratched an itch this time: the ad money tasted great, but the whole pot of soup got spoiled. The illegal ones play hide-and-seek, the legal ones take a brick to the head, and the regulators still have to work overtime writing new rules. How does that old saying of ours go?
"You can do anything, just don’t be too slick. Money can be made for a while, but once your name stinks, even your dreams have to be paid in instalments."
That’s roughly the idea.
Frequently Asked Questions
What latest regulatory measures has the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission proposed for social media platforms?
In future, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission may require social media platforms with more than 8 million users to apply for an operating licence, or face fines or even jail. In addition, the authorities are preparing to launch a public safety and online harm rating system to score and assess the safety of the major platforms.
How much have Malaysian internet users lost to social media scams, and how much is Meta estimated to have profited?
According to the report, Malaysian internet users have lost nearly US$60 million to social media scams since 2023. At the same time, the report estimates that Meta may have profited by as much as US$7 billion to US$16 billion from these ads involving illegal gambling and scams.
What impact has the Malaysian government's social media ad crackdown had on legitimate licensed gambling platforms?
Legitimate licensed platforms have been seriously caught up in the fallout: regulators have indiscriminately bundled them into the high-risk list and strictly scrutinized their ad slots, and they have been forced to spend more to prove their innocence. At the same time, players’ trust in these compliant platforms has fallen, and players have started to have doubts.
What prompted the Malaysian government to call out Meta?
The Malaysian government called out Meta because large numbers of ads appeared on its platforms under the banner of getting rich quick and investment returns, but actually led to illegal gambling websites or scam pages. These violating ads caused internet users huge financial losses, prompting the government to sharply question the platform’s ethics and responsibility.
With over 16 years of experience in the gaming industry, this seasoned market research expert excels at combining macro-market trend analysis with cutting-edge SEO strategies to drive brand growth through data. Leveraging years of UI design and front-end development background, they possess unique insights into technical SEO and user search experience optimization.