The communications minister of Malaysia has said that social media platform TikTok is not doing enough to curb defamatory or misleading content, and that the app has failed to comply with several local laws.

Following a meeting with TikTok representatives this week, minister Fahmi Fadzil subsequently posted on social media that the company had to address issues surrounding content distribution and advertising purchases. He did note that the company said it would cooperate with the government and put the blame on not currently having a representative in Malaysia.

While TikTok has faced major scrutiny in the US – including a potentially unenforceable ban in the deep red state of Montana – the Chinese company is also facing pressures in Southeast Asia.

Last week, the company suspended its online shopping service in Indonesia in response to a new law introduced by the region's biggest economy. The country had served as the test ground for TikTok Shop in 2021, but the company is all but abandoning the country for ecommerce after regulators introduced a new rule which would force it to split the shopping feature into its own standalone app.

Vietnam meanwhile in April announced that it would probe TikTok for “toxic content', with the country’s information ministry saying the app "poses a threat to the country's youth, culture and tradition”.

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