Asian industry groups including Google, Meta and X have urged Malaysia in an open letter to suspend plans to require social media services to apply for licenses, citing a lack of clarity in the proposed regulations.
But the letter from the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) was removed from its website late on Monday, and the group did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
Grab, which is also part of the coalition, said in a separate statement that it had not been informed of the letter or consulted, adding that the government's plans would not affect its operations.
Malaysia's communications regulator said in July it would require social media platforms with more than 8 million users in the country to apply for licenses starting this month as part of a push to combat cybercrime.
Regulators said they could face legal action if the platforms fail to do so by January 1, 2025.
In a letter dated Friday to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the AIC – whose members include Apple and Amazon – said the proposed licensing system was “unworkable” for the industry and could stifle innovation by placing undue burdens on companies.
The group said no formal public consultations had been held on the plan, creating uncertainty in the industry about the scope of obligations that would be imposed on social media platforms.
“We do not believe that any platform would be able to register in these circumstances,” AIC executive director Jeff Payne wrote in a letter posted on the group's website.
Malaysia's Communications Ministry declined to comment on the letter, and the prime minister's office did not respond to a request for comment.
The AIC also expressed concern that the proposed regulations could stifle Malaysia's growing digital economy, which has attracted significant investment this year.
The group supported the government's efforts to tackle online harms but said the proposed implementation timeline did not leave enough clarity and time for the industry to assess the impact.
Earlier this year, the government reported a surge in harmful social media content and called on social media companies such as Meta and short-video platform TikTok to step up monitoring of their platforms.
