Telegram said it will not participate in political censorship. The messaging service has not been cooperating with the Malaysian Communications and Digital Ministry to take down political content.
Speaking to the News Strait Times, a spokesperson for Telegram, Remi Vaughn, said that the platform actively moderates harmful content, including public pornography and the sale of illegal drugs, as well as removing content that violates its terms of service.
Vaughn added that the platform actively monitors public content and also responds to reports from users through the app and an email address.
“Telegram will not, however, participate in any form of political censorship,” Vaughn added in the statement.
Last week, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed that Telegram has not been complying with requests from the government since January. He added that the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which regulates tech platforms, will consider how to respond to the messaging service’s non-compliance.
