The Malaysian government has announced that social media services with more than eight million users in the country will be required to apply for a license from Aug. 1 in a bid to combat rising cybercrime. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said in a statement on Saturday that the license is in line with a cabinet decision that social media and internet messaging services must comply with Malaysian laws aimed at fighting fraud, cyberbullying and sexual crimes.

The commission said legal action would be taken against the social networks if they fail to apply for licenses by Jan. 1, 2025. Malaysia's Communications Minister Fahmy Fadzil said last week that the regulator had issued guidelines for social media companies to provide feedback on the government's concerns about cybercrime and harmful content found on the platforms. Earlier this year, Malaysia reported a sharp increase in harmful content on social media and urged social media companies including Facebook parent Meta (META.O) and short-video platform TikTok (8645.HK) to step up monitoring of their platforms.