SHARING of obscene materials was the most common online offence recorded this year by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

In a statement today, MCMC said the offence was linked to 22 of the 34 charges it filed under the Communications and Mutimedia Act 1998 against offenders, between January and September.

This is followed respectively by sharing of offensive (nine) and false (three) content .

MCMC said it filed 14 charges filed under the Penal Code and the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 over offences committed on Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Instagram and blogs.

The increase in the number of charges showed MCMC’s firmness in dealing with social media abuse to ensure a safe internet environment, it said.

In the first nine months of the year, MCMC said, it received 178 first information reports on offences pertaining to social media abuse, compared to 139 received during the corresponding period last year.

MCMC said it was an offence to share or disseminate false, offensive, and threatening content under Section 233 of the  Communications and Mutimedia Act 1998.

Those found guilty face a maximum fine of RM50,000 or jail for up to a year, or both, it said. – Bernama, November 11, 2020.