Corporate Communications Department, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (ANTARA/Bernama-AsiaNet)- The International Regulatory Conference (IRC) 2026 concluded here yesterday with a resounding call for agile digital governance, heightened platform accountability and robust international cooperation to fortify a secure digital ecosystem.

Hosted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) under the theme ‘Shaping the Next Digital Era: Regulation, Resilience and Trust,’ the two-day event drew more than 500 global regulators, industry captains, policymakers, academics and students.

Officiating the conference on Tuesday, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil emphasised that trust remains the defining challenge of the modern digital landscape, particularly as technology rapidly outpaces existing legal frameworks.

“Trust has become the defining challenge of the next digital era. Can citizens trust the platforms they use, the information they consume and the digital systems that increasingly shape their daily lives? Technology has evolved far more rapidly than many of the frameworks designed to govern it,” he said.

Fahmi also highlighted key national initiatives, including the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA), the 5G rollout and the National Digital Network (JENDELA), aimed at protecting users while encouraging innovation.

Throughout the two-day summit, delegates deliberated on critical priorities ranging from online safety and social media restrictions for children to data protection, legal frameworks and the advent of quantum technology.

MCMC Commission Member Derek John Fernandez, in his keynote address, advocated for legal safeguards in the digital realm to be on a par with the physical world to better protect vulnerable groups.

Lamenting the lack of digital safeguards compared to strict real-world age restrictions, he revealed that MCMC currently handles up to three child sexual abuse material reports and executes roughly 1,700 harmful content takedowns daily to address these digital loopholes.

On data governance and cybersecurity, panel discussions featuring representatives from Ericsson, Maxis, Shopee and TNG Digital highlighted that data sovereignty, local encryption and consumer transparency are essential prerequisites for maintaining digital trust.

The second day of the conference pivoted towards content amplification and human autonomy, with Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF) Chief Executive Officer Mediha Mahmood calling for regulatory oversight to move beyond mere fact-checking to scrutinise content frequency and algorithmic recommendations.

In the healthcare sector, Ministry of Health Digital Health Division Director Dr A. Maheshwara Rao outlined the expansion of the MySejahtera platform, noting that its database of nearly 40 million individuals is now being leveraged to drive national health targets, including a 10-million-kilogramme public weight-loss objective by 2027.

Addressing human capital, Government-Industry TVET Coordination Body (GITC) CEO Tan Sri Jamil Bakri urged a paradigm shift from qualification-based education towards a competency-driven talent ecosystem to meet industry demands.

Apart from that, legal and international experts affirmed that Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA) remains technology-neutral and resilient enough to adapt to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership Sulyna Abdullah commended the CMA's inherent flexibility, noting that effective governance for emerging tech must be agile, adaptable and anticipatory.

From a regional perspective, ASEAN Secretariat representative Hazremi Hamid announced that negotiations for the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), the world's first legally binding regional digital economy pact have concluded, with the final signing expected at the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines this November.

In her closing address, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching revealed that MCMC issued over 377,000 content removal requests from Jan 1 to July 15 this year alone, averaging nearly 1,900 requests daily.

“People will not judge technology only by how advanced it is; they will judge it by whether it is safe, fair and worthy of their confidence. Technology and accountability must evolve together,” Teo said.

SOURCE: Corporate Communications Department, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)

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