TikTok, a social media platform owned by Chinese companies, is not fully compliant with Malaysian laws and more needs to be done to curb the spread of defamatory and misleading content in the country, a Malaysian minister said on Thursday.
Malaysia's communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said in a Facebook post that "TikTok's compliance with Malaysian laws is still not satisfactory" and that the platform needs to be "more proactive in controlling the spread of fake news and defamatory material."
The minister did not specify any violations of Malaysian law.
He said he met with a TikTok executive on Wednesday to discuss the company's operations in the country, including what he said were complaints from local businesses, media and public bodies about buying ads on the platform.
TikTok has not commented.
TikTok, a short video platform owned by China-based Bytedance, has faced greater scrutiny in Southeast Asia. The company's e-commerce services in Southeast Asia are growing rapidly.
Indonesia recently banned social media companies, including TikTok, from selling products on their platforms, saying the move was aimed at protecting small businesses. Vietnam recently said TikTok violated laws related to e-commerce, information security and other areas.