THE spread of fake news and the Indonesian government’s ban on e-commerce transactions on TikTok were among topics to be highlighted in a meeting between the social media platform’s top management and Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

Fahmi said the meeting would take place at the Parliament building at 4.30pm.

“I noticed there are daily media statements from ministers or ministries regarding fake news circulating on social media, including TikTok. The spread of fake news is something we in the government are actively addressing, and there’s even a new segment every day on RTM called ‘Biar Betul!’.

“We also need close cooperation among social media platforms in detecting elements of coordinated inauthentic behaviour (CIB),” he told reporters after attending the “Jasamu Dikenang” programme in Putrajaya.

Fahmi said social media platform operators should take proactive measures as CIB violates community guidelines they have established.

On Indonesia’s ban on e-commerce transactions on TikTok, Fahmi said he would reach out to the Indonesian government and TikTok management to obtain detailed information on the matter.

“We want to understand the situation first. The context in Malaysia is different from Indonesia, but I see a need to take a comprehensive look at it,” he said.

On October 7, Fahmi reportedly said Putrajaya would study Indonesia’s ban on e-commerce transactions on TikTok before establishing local measures.

This came after Indonesia Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan announced the ban to protect offline and market traders as he said the prices offered online were too low, adversely affecting small and medium businesses operating offline. – Bernama, October 11, 2023.