KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government is in talks with social media platform TikTok to restore 18 accounts belonging to media outlets that have been blocked due to artificial intelligence (AI) moderation, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Preliminary reports suggest the accounts were banned due to the outlets’ coverage of an alleged sexual assault of a young girl at a mosque in Selangor last Friday (Feb 21), Fahmi said on Monday (Feb 24).
Accounts blocked by TikTok include that of Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama and television news outlet Buletin TV3. The ban was still in force as of 3.30pm on Monday.
“The problem is TikTok’s artificial intelligence itself … AI can sometimes go too far and not understand that media organisation reporting is different from the content produced by ordinary people,” Fahmi was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today at the launch of the “AI in the Newsroom” programme organised by Bernama in Kuala Lumpur.
Sexual assault cases are usually reported by media organisations and should not become an issue, he added.
Videos of the case in question went viral over the weekend. In closed-circuit television footage, a man was seen sneaking into the women’s prayer area of a mosque in Batang Kali, Selangor.
He approached the girl from behind and attempted to carry her away unnoticed.
The 19-year-old suspect is under remand for seven days to assist Selangor police with their investigation.
The case is being investigated under Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
Fahmi said the government has asked TikTok to restore the accounts and provide an explanation to both the government and media outlets.
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