MCMC warns against selling porn videos on social media

SHAH ALAM - Using different pseudonyms in case of getting blocked is a common tactic used by pornographic website developers

Porn websites developer based abroad have also been detected using different Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to avoid their operations or activities from being detected by the authorities.

Nowadays there are also pornographic content on apps and social media where a certain amount of money is charged to access the content.

For the year of 2020 until last February, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has blocked 4,240 porn sites on the internet.

MCMC Chief Regulatory Officer Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin said individuals who misuse the internet to upload pornographic content will be investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588).

"Based on the enforcement and investigations carried out, it was found that these pornographic websites developers come from abroad.

"MCMC has blocked public access to these websites that display pornographic content," he told Sinar Harian in a special interview at the MCMC Headquarters recently.

Zulkarnain said storing any obscene content in mobile phones was also considered as an offence under Section 292 of the Penal Code.

He said many people were unaware of this offence as they think it's a matter of privacy, when it is indeed an offence.

"Even if a single photo was found if an inspection was carried out, then it is an offence that can be subjected to legal action," he stressed.

Zulkarnain explained that the commission also received various complaints about pornographic videos or photos shares through short text apps such as WhatsApp.

"It seems to be a trend where the sender intends to joke around by spreading these type of content on social media and so on.

"This kind of act is an offence and if a complaint is made by anyone then legal actions can be taken against the perpetrator," he said.

Selling pornographic videos

Zulkarnain revealed that MCMC have detected pornographic content sold on social media for profit.

"These irresponsible individuals were found creating certain groups on social media platforms before charging a fee to anyone who wants to join the group.

"The group is set on private mode so only those who pay to join the group can browse the porn content that is uploaded," he explained.

He said MCMC have always cooperated with relevant social media platforms developers for further action.

"It should be noted that any activity of sharing pornographic content both online and offline are subject to the national law and it is an punishable offence," he said.

He explained action can be taken against any individual involved in this offence in accordance to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

"Any individual convicted of the offence can be fined a maximum of RM50,000 or can be subjected to one year imprisonment or both, if convicted.

"Additionally, other relevant laws will also be used according to the facts of the case investigated, cases can also be subjected to the provision of existing laws such as the Penal Code which is under the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) jurisdiction," he added.

Zulkarnain said there were cases where an individual keeps a personal collection in their device but then they lost the device.

"The device was later found by anirresponsible person before it was hacked and then the obscene videos or photos were widely distributed.

"Many people are unaware of the impact if it was spread. It will certainly leave an impact on the individual," he said.

At the same time, MCMC have also detected vulgar videos related to beauty products with pornographic elements on social media.

"There are promotions related to, for instance, beauty products and internal health product which have vulgar elements that are not suitable for all ages.

"In this regards, MCMC will work together with parties such as the Health Ministry to confirm whether the product involved is registered or not and then to do a follow up about the vulgar promotional methods or techniques used," he said.

Zulkarnain said in terms of enforcement, MCMC will focus on offences under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

Commenting on pornographic content related to prostitution activities, Zulkarnain said that the activity of seeking subscription for prostitution purposes falls under Section 372B of the Penal Code.

"Complaints related to the matter will be forwarded to PDRM for investigation and further legal action," said Zulkarnain.

He said cooperation and coordination between MCMC and social media developers such as Facebook and Instagram have been established, in the context of detecting pornographic contents on the platforms involved.

"Pornographic content is indeed an offence based on the community guidelines on the platform.

"Any obscene content that is reported will be deleted according to the community guidelines set by them," he said.

Zulkarnain also added that MCMC works closely with PDRM's Sexual, Women and Children’s Investigations Division (D11) related to pornographic content with criminal elements.

"It includes investigations of pornographic content cases involving issues such as pedophilia and child pornography which will be investigated under the Sexual Offenses Against Children Act 2017.

"We also cooperatew with the International Police (Interpol) if the contents were detected coming from abroad for issues of pedophilia and child pornography," he said.

Zulkarnain said frequently browsing pornographic content can result in addiction.

"Browsing pornographic content either through websites or on the phone not only damages and weakens our common sense but also causes a person to experience addiction besides affecting an individuals sexual development.

"The most worrying thing is that it will not only result in negative effects on the perpetrators but also affect family members and the community where it is feared that it will encourage unhealthy behavior such as casual sex and so on," he said.

Various mediums to deal with pornographic content.

Zulkarnain added that the commission also uses measures to curb the spread of pornographic content.

"Among the measures carried out are advocacy programmes that provides various information related to the effects of browsing pornographic content including its effect in terms of the mental and physical context.

"We simultaneously educate the community about the ethical aspects and and how to not use social media to encourage people to browse pornographic content," he said.

He said focus was also given from the internet users point of view where they need to be more responsible and adopt smart habits in using social media

"Awareness related to the use of pornographic content actually starts at home where parents should emphasis on the matter themselves in addition to initiatives to self-screen the content using Parental Control Tools.

"This initiative makes it easier for parents to monitor and filter the contents accessed by families and children, in order to avoid unwanted browsing of content posts while also ensuring more positive and safer use of the internet," he said.

Zulkarnain said advocacy programmes such as the Klik Dengan Bijak (KDB) campaign which was introduced in 2012 and is still held until now to actively educate Malaysians on the proper use of social media

"Emphasis are given on three main cores which is safety, vigilance and responsibility, we also stress on self-regulation.

"It is not only the enforcement agencies' responsibilities but also the users themselves, where self-contro is crucial to protect an individual from negative content such as pornographic content," he said.

List of related case.

In May 15, 2022 The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) had received tens of thousands IP addresses suspected of sharing child pornography on the internet from international authorities over the past six years.

However, due to lack of manpower, the number of arrests and inspections carried out was much smaller than the amount.

PDRM received 93,368 IP addresses suspected of being involved in the activity, from a shared file system pool made up of International Police (Interpol), the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children.

On March 1, 2023 a total of 58 per cent or 1,631 of the 2,825 complaints received and investigated by MCMC were about the misuse of communcation services and social media offences.

Additionally, complaints of vulgar content posts recorded a total of 546 cases followed by inappropriate content (seven), fake content (574) and the remaining 74 complaints were of threatening content and inappropriate content.

Out of all the complaints received, a total of 108 cases are still under investigation, 155 cases have underwent prosecution in court, 40 cases have been compounded with a total value of RM138,250 and 84 cases have been issued warning notices.

Since March 23, 2023 The Communications and Digital Ministry had received a total of 1,282 complaints related to pornographic content posts on Twitter.

The MCMC have taken action against all of it and the cases were referred to the PDRM.