Court dismisses lawyer's bid to challenge MCMC over blocked Facebook post
Shamsher had in his application argued that the commission had infringed on his freedom of speech by blocking the post.

SHAH ALAM - A lawyer has failed in his bid to challenge the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) over his Facebook posting that has been blocked.
This was after the Penang High Court dismissed Shamsher Singh Thind's leave application to quash an administrative directive that led to users in Malaysia being blocked from accessing his social media post from May 2024.
According to a local online news portal, Shamsher had in his application argued that the commission had infringed on his freedom of speech by blocking the post.
However, on Thursday, it was reported that the court ruled that the decision to remove the post was ultimately made by Facebook, not MCMC.
Hence, the matter could not be subjected to judicial review.
It was also reported that the court said social media platforms have the final say in content moderation, even when prompted by regulators such as MCMC.
Judge Anand Ponnudurai in his decision explained that while the commission may have made an "administrative request," it was Facebook that made the final call regarding content moderation.
In his post, Shamsher alleged a connection between the awarding of a government contract and the husband of a Cabinet minister.
The post ignited heated discussions online, leading the MCMC to request Facebook to limit its visibility.
Shamsher claimed that Facebook later blocked the post in Malaysia following what it described as "a legal and human rights assessment."
Meanwhile, his lawyer A. Srimurugan, argued that MCMC has no legal power to instruct Facebook to remove content.
"Whether it is called an administrative request or otherwise, the action needs to be scrutinised by the court," he was reported as saying.
In his final submission, Shamsher said he had decided not to file an appeal against the court's decision.
"The judge was not wrong in his decision and I have made my point already," he was reported as saying.
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