‘Safeguard selves against negative online content’

THE rise of various sexual content from “dark side” (DS) accounts on social media should be addressed immediately to prevent the issue from getting worse, says a cyber activist.

Malaysia Cyber Consumer Association (MCCA) president Siraj Jalil said the association planned to work with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to find ways to eradicate the trend.

He also hoped to be able to rope in the police for a holistic solution.Siraj: The public can report negative content instead of solely depending on government action.

“We sent a letter to Jakim on Jan 23 for a meeting to officially discuss this matter further.

“The focus is not only on how we can combat this trend but also other online issues such as gambling and fake news.

“We feel that there is an urgency to address this matter,” said Siraj when asked to comment on the arrest of a man for allegedly selling videos on Telegram, of himself having sex with more than 20 women.

Siraj said people should not depend entirely on government awareness campaigns but instead use their initiative to address these issues.

“MCCA can only call for action and perhaps share prevention steps with the public.

“The public can report to the host platform or to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) or Jakim, any online posts that promote negative content.

“On the government’s part, they can call up Meta, X (formerly Twitter) or any other social media company to shut down such pages or content,” he said.

Siraj said MCCA also wanted to work with Jakim to create a positive awareness trend that people could follow and support.

“We would like to have the same level of public support that was received for the #GengSubuhMacamJumaat, which the Johor government has adopted and expanded into a weekly programme.

“We want to find ways to nurture ethical and responsible use of social media by users and influencers.

“MCCA also plans to work with mainstream media to help spread awareness on this matter, so that we will have a wider audience in tackling these negative activities,” he explained.

Siraj said it was high time for the government to create a better defence against platforms that promoted immoral activities, to protect especially the younger generation.

“These days we are dealing with apps that are negative or something much more sinister like deep fake technology which could bring harm to society.

“There should be a defence mechanism that we can introduce to the public and that parents or teachers can implement to protect children,” he added.