SHAH ALAM – Brands, agencies and clients should share responsibility with influencers for the claims they make and content they promote, under proposed guidelines being developed by the Communications and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia (CMCF).
The proposed Guidelines for Influencers & Brand Collaboration were discussed with creators, influencers, key opinion leaders (KOLs), brands, agencies and other industry stakeholders during a town hall dialogue in Kuala Lumpur.
The session also gathered feedback on the proposed Gaming Sub-Code, which addresses concerns including child safety, in-game spending, harmful interactions and risks in online multiplayer environments.
The influencer guidelines aim to clarify responsibilities across commercial collaborations, including the disclosure of paid partnerships, truthful product claims, audience suitability, content involving children and younger audiences, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content.
CMCF chief executive officer (CEO) Mediha Mahmood said responsibility should not fall solely on influencers, as promotional content often involves several parties.
“It is easy to tell influencers to ‘be responsible’, but responsibility does not begin and end with the person appearing on screen.
“A creator may be working from a brief prepared by an agency, making claims supplied by a client, or being pushed to post something they are uncomfortable with because ‘the brand wants it that way’. Good standards have to recognise that whole ecosystem,” she said.
Mediha said clearer standards could also give creators greater confidence to reject requests that crossed ethical boundaries.
“We want a creator to be able to say, ‘I can’t make that claim’, ‘I need to disclose this relationship’, or ‘this is not appropriate for my audience’, and have an industry standard to point to. Responsible influence should protect audiences, but it should also protect responsible creators,” she added.
The town hall used real-world scenarios to examine challenges faced by creators and industry players, including undisclosed commercial relationships, exaggerated product claims, content involving vulnerable audiences and the spread of harmful or misleading material online.
Discussions on gaming focused on how safeguards could keep pace with the changing nature of digital games, which increasingly function as entertainment platforms, social spaces, marketplaces and competitive environments.
The CMCF said these environments could involve children interacting alongside adults, raising questions about how to protect younger users.
CMCF chairman Datuk Rafiq Razali said effective self-regulation required the involvement of industry players in developing standards they were expected to follow.
“The best standards are shaped with the people who understand the realities on the ground. Creators, platforms, brands, agencies and media businesses are all operating in an environment that is moving very quickly, so the framework has to be practical, credible and able to evolve with the industry,” he added.
Rafiq said stronger standards could help build trust among audiences, creators and businesses operating in the digital ecosystem.
“For us, this is about trust. Audiences need confidence in the content they consume, creators need clarity on what responsible practice looks like, and businesses need a framework that allows them to innovate with confidence. When those pieces come together, self-regulation becomes something the industry owns, rather than something it simply complies with,” he said.
Both the Guidelines for Influencers & Brand Collaboration and the proposed Gaming Sub-Code were developed through stakeholder engagement and are open for public consultation until Oct 24, 2026.
The CMCF said feedback from the consultations and town hall dialogue would be considered as it finalises both sets of standards.
The event, themed “Your Space. Your Say. Your Standards.”, also addressed creator wellbeing and platform responsibility, with the Health Ministry’s National Centre of Excellence for Mental Health (NCEMH) participating through a pocket talk and an engagement booth.