Fahmi: Meta should be billed after MCMC spent ‘22 years’ of man-hours flagging scam ads

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 7 — Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil today revealed that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been working around the clock since January to weed out scam and gambling advertisements on social media platforms owned by Meta.

Meta owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.

Fahmi said lodging each report to Meta takes between 30 and 45 minutes, with the total man-hours spent by MCMC staff amounting to 22.2 years between January and October 15, 2025.

“We should send Meta a bill for all the work we are doing on their behalf,” Fahmi said at his weekly press conference here today.

He said this when asked to comment on a Reuters report alleging that Meta planned to derive 10 per cent of its 2024 revenue — or US$16 billion — from advertising scams and banned goods.

Reuters made the revelation after reviewing internal documents belonging to the tech giant.

Fahmi said his ministry will conduct a thorough review of the matter.

“If the reports are true, this is alarming because it gives the impression that Meta is profiting from illegal activities that breach Malaysian laws.

“I have openly said in public and in Dewan Rakyat before that Meta approximately generates RM2.5 billion in advertisement revenues from Malaysia in 2023 alone.

“If the reports are true, this means more than RM250 million earned from the sum cited by Reuters are from scams and gambling-related ads,” he said.

Although Meta has refuted the allegations, Fahmi said the report will serve as a basis for the Malaysian government to summon Meta for a full explanation.