Malaysia: High Court issued interim injunction against Telegram and channels over spreading harmful content in violation of Communications and Multimedia Act

On 31 October 2025, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur issued an Erinford injunction in favour of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in proceedings against the Telegram platform as an application service provider class licensee under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. This ruling followed an interim injunction ruling issued on 19 June 2025 after Telegram reportedly did not respond to repeated notifications from MCMC concerning the channels “Edisi Siasat” and “Edisi Khas”, which were alleged to have broadcast harmful content. The Erinford ruling maintains and extends restrictions while MCMC’s interlocutory appeal is pending before the Court of Appeal. It prohibits the broadcasting of harmful content as identified in MCMC’s Statement of Claim, including content with similar characteristics or effects, and mandates the full shutdown of “Edisi Siasat” and “Edisi Khas” together with any analogous channels operating with a similar modus operandi. The High Court noted that the ruling seeks to prevent the dissemination of false, misleading, or inciting material that may affect confidence in national institutions and recorded that public interest consideration prevails over private interests.