Malaysia grapples with Al legal grey zone as deepfake porn targets lawmakers

But experts caution against a standalone law to regulate the technology

- Muzliza Mustafa Malaysia Correspondent

In 2024, Malaysia passed the Online Safety Act, which aims to strengthen online safety by focusing on deepfakes, financial scams, and cyber bullying. However, it is yet to be implemented. PHOTO: BERNAMA

(BERNAMA)

Malaysian authorities are facing renewed calls to criminalise sexually explicit content generated using artificial intelligence (AI) after several lawmakers were blackmailed with such clips within a span of five days.

Scammers demanding thousands of dollars through threats to release these “deepfake porn” clips have exposed glaring gaps in Malaysia’s legal framework, and raised significant human rights concerns that threaten public trust in the country's institutions.

As the authorities ponder how to deal with such cases, watchdogs and the civil society have cautioned against looking at laws as a silver bullet.

Ms Mediha Mahmood from the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (CMCF) said the incident points to a wider issue.

“When lawmakers are intimidated with fake content, the real target is public trust, so it becomes a national concern,” the chief executive of the content watchdog told The Straits Times.

CMCF, also called the Content Forum, is a self-regulatory forum of content industry players under government internet regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Since Sept 12, 10 MPs and senators, including Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, have been targeted by the scam.

They said scammers threatened to release deepfake videos depicting them in sex acts unless US$100,000 (S$128,500) was paid.

This was not the first time public figures have been hit with deepfakes, although this was the first major case involving sexual material.