CYBERBULLYING: MCMC TAKES DOWN 27,704 ITEMS AS OF OCT 1, SHOWS A MAJOR SURGE - TEO

SEREMBAN, Oct 9 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has taken down 27,704 cyberbullying-related content from a total of 35,781 complaints received for the period from January to Oct 1.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the number showed a significant increase compared to the 8,756 cyberbullying pieces taken down from the 11,385 complaints received throughout 2024.

“This means that the amount of content taken down this year is almost 3.2 times higher than the entire year last year and we see that cyberbullying is a worrying trend, not only becoming more widespread but also affecting society, especially students and young people.

“These statistics highlight how important it is for us to take proactive action through digital education, public awareness, and continuous monitoring of online content,” she told reporters after officiating the Negeri Sembilan Safe Internet Campaign here today.

In this regard, she said it was important to build resilience among the younger generation to face the threat of cyberbullying, including through the implementation of the Safe Internet Campaign to increase their knowledge about online safety.

“Despite the benefits of the Internet and social media, society also faces various digital security challenges including cyberbullying, online fraud, spreading false information, digital gambling and sexual exploitation of children,” she said.

Meanwhile, she added that as of yesterday, 4,511 schools nationwide had implemented the Safe Internet Campaign involving more than 227,000 students, teachers and related parties, with Negeri Sembilan being the first state to complete the campaign in all 479 schools in the state.

Teo said the campaign would be continued in stages in schools nationwide to educate students to face the challenges of the digital world and to cultivate positive, safe and responsible Internet use for the well-being of the country.

She also called on all levels of society to make the campaign a starting point towards cultivating a culture of safe, responsible and ethical Internet use.

-- BERNAMA