PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has asked the Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) to prove it represents the tech companies listed in its letter to the prime minister, which called for a pause on licensing social media platforms. The MCMC also refuted claims made in the AIC's letter.

The regulatory body noted that the AIC's letter to the prime minister had been updated on its website several times, with some member company logos absent in later versions. It also said it has not officially received the subsequent versions of the AIC letter.

"The use of these logos gives the impression that the AIC Letter has been authorised and agreed to by LINE, Grab, Yahoo!, Rakuten, Zalora, Pinterest, Google, Spotify, X, Snap Inc, Shopify, Amazon, Apple Inc, Booking.com, Meta, LinkedIn and FedEx.

"However, soon after the AIC Letter was issued, Grab Malaysia issued a media statement on Aug 26, stating that Grab Malaysia was not consulted prior to the issuance of the AIC Letter.

"In view of the above, please provide MCMC with written authorisation that authorises AIC to write on behalf of all the aforesaid companies and the basis upon which AIC included Grab Malaysia since the said company has stated they were not consulted," it said.

The second version of the open letter, posted on the AIC website, listed only the logos of Meta, LinkedIn, Apple Inc, Amazon, Google, and X, while a third version omitted all company logos and names.

In July, the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced that all social media services and Internet messaging services with at least eight million registered users in Malaysia must apply for a Class Licence beginning Aug 1.

Failure to obtain a Class Licence for Application Service Providers under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 after the effective date would be an offence, said MCMC, adding that appropriate legal action can be taken under the Act.