As Malaysia heads into six state elections, it is imperative for social media platforms to step up their game in moderating harmful content, says an Institute of Strategic and International Studies researcher.
With six states headed for elections in 2023,
The bulk of the evaluation of content is done through artificial intelligence but, to a lesser extent, through user reporting and government-removal requests. Human moderators continue to play a role in assessing content appropriateness. Resources here include how well-trained the AI models are at detecting issues specific to Malaysia, the number of human moderators dedicated to the country, and the language proficiency of the AI model and human moderators to account for hyperlocal colloquialisms and slang.
Of greater concern is that removal requests can be made on vague bases, such as infringing broadly applicable legislation, like Section 505 of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The former draws the line for free speech at statements bringing about public mischief, while the latter prohibits the improper use of network facilities.
By publishing more data, such as the scale of the information disorder on their platform and why action was taken on certain content but not others, would allow for fairer assessments of the platforms’ efforts. This would naturally increase trust in these platforms and insulate them from allegations of inaction.
A second step would be to optimise resources for content moderation. In the lead-up to elections, platforms should engage with researchers and civil society organisations to better understand the information environment. This would help inform resource allocation and align content-moderation practices within the context of Malaysian elections.
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