KUALA LUMPUR: Short video platform TikTok said on Wednesday it is on high alert for content that violates its guidelines in Malaysia as authorities crackdown on racial tensions on social media following an inconclusive general election. I had warned about the increase.
Saturday’s election ended in an unprecedented hung parliament, with neither of the two rival coalitions able to secure enough seats in parliament to form a government.
“We are on high alert and will aggressively remove any infringing content,” TikTok, which is owned by China-based firm ByteDance, said in a statement.
TikTok said it has been in contact with Malaysian authorities over serious and repeated violations of its community guidelines since the start of the election.
One of the coalitions hoping to form a government is the conservative, mostly ethnic Malay group, led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
This includes PAS (Malaysian Islamic Party), which advocates a strict interpretation of Sharia Islamic religious law. His electoral successes have raised concerns in a country with significant ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities, many of whom follow other faiths.
Veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim leads the second coalition vying for power, a group of more multi-ethnic, progressive parties that includes the Democratic Action Party, a Chinese-dominated ethnic party that traditionally supports the majority Malay community. has been unpopular among the voters.
Social media users have reported a number of TikTok posts since the election referencing the May 13, 1969, riots in the capital Kuala Lumpur that killed nearly 200 people, days after China’s Opposition parties supported by ethnic voters interfered in the elections. .
TikTok said it had removed videos with content that violated its community guidelines since May 13, saying it had “zero tolerance” for hate speech and violent extremism. .
TikTok declined to disclose the number of posts it has removed or the number of complaints it has received.
It told JEE News it would remove any accounts operated by users under the age of 13 after some parents complained their children had been exposed to offensive content.
To Meet the Sultan.
JEE News reviewed nearly 100 videos on TikTok, some of which show people displaying weapons such as knives and machetes. Some addressed the “young Malay warrior” and said Anwar’s supporters should “remember the May 13 incident”.
In response, a flood of videos chronicling the May 13 violence has surfaced, with many users of Malay descent calling for unity and criticizing those who instigated the violence.
Police asked social media users to refrain from posting “provocative” content, saying they had detected posts that touched on race and religion and insulted the monarchy.
The king has called his fellow hereditary sultans to a meeting on Thursday to discuss who should be prime minister.
PAS issued a statement calling on all parties to respect the constitution, maintain public order and avoid provocations that could threaten harmony in the country.
Anwar said that efforts to establish a responsible and stable government should not end in turmoil.
“I am concerned about the racist sentiments and rhetoric being perpetuated by a desperate and self-interested few,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Police said they are establishing 24-hour checkpoints on roads across the country to ensure public peace and security.
Police also said they arrested a man in Selangor state, near Kuala Lumpur, for threatening the king in an Instagram post that called an unidentified ethnic group “corrupt”.
Instagram did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
