After authorities warned of a rise in ethnic tension on social media following an inconclusive general election, short video platform TikTok stated on Wednesday (Nov. 23) that it was on high alert for content that violated its guidelines in Malaysia.
The election on Saturday ended in an unprecedented hung parliament, with neither of the two competing alliances gaining enough seats to form a government.
ByteDance, a Chinese company that owns TikTok, stated in a statement, "We continue to be on high alert and will aggressively remove any violative content." TikTok is a social media platform.
Since the election, TikTok claimed that it had been in touch with Malaysian authorities regarding serious and recurrent violations of its community guidelines.
A conservative, largely ethnic Malay, Muslim group led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is one of the alliances hoping to form a government.
It incorporates the Islamist party PAS, which has supported for a severe understanding of sharia Islamic strict regulation.In a nation with significant ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, the majority of whom adhere to other faiths, its gains in the election have raised concerns.
The other alliance that is vying for power is led by veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. This group of more progressive, multi-ethnic parties includes the Democratic Action Party, which is primarily a Chinese party but has traditionally been unpopular with voters from the majority Malay community.
Since the election, social media users have reported numerous TikTok posts that mentioned a riot that occurred on May 13, 1969, in Kuala Lumpur, killing approximately 200 people. This occurred just days after opposition parties supported by ethnic Chinese voters made inroads in an election.
TikTok stated that it had "zero tolerance" for hate speech and violent extremism and had removed videos that contained content related to May 13.
TikTok didn't say how many posts it took down or how many complaints it had received.
After parents complained that their children had been exposed to content that they found offensive, it informed Reuters that it would remove any accounts owned by users under the age of 13.
SULTANS TO MEET Reuters examined approximately one hundred TikTok videos, some of which featured people displaying weapons like machetes and knives.Some referred to Anwar's supporters as "young Malay warriors" and advised them to "remember the May 13 incident."
In response, a flurry of videos outlining the background of the violence on May 13 have surfaced, with many ethnic Malay users praising those inciting violence and calling for unity.
Users of social media were instructed by police not to post "provocative" content, and they claimed that they had discovered posts that insulted the monarchy and touched on race and religion.
The king has requested that the other hereditary sultans meet on Thursday to choose a prime minister.
In a statement, PAS urged all parties to uphold the constitution, maintain public order, and avoid provocations that could jeopardize national harmony.
According to Anwar, efforts to establish a dependable and stable government ought not to result in chaos.
He said in a statement on Tuesday, "I am concerned to see the racist sentiments and rhetoric that continue to be espoused by a few with desperate and vested interests."
In order to maintain public safety and peace, the police stated that they would establish checkpoints on national roads that would be open around the clock.
In addition, the police stated that they had detained a man near Kuala Lumpur in the state of Selangor for threatening the king in an Instagram post that referred to an unknown ethnic group as "corruptors."
An email request for comment was not immediately responded to by Instagram.
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