Murray Hunter
Is the MCMC building a massive snoop and censor system for WhatsApp?
The MCMC is becoming the most powerful agency in the government, arguably surpassing JAKIM
MAY 13, 2024
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is in the process of building a ‘fake news’ verifier for the social media app WhatsApp. The MCMC is collaborating with Meta, a foreign owned company which undertakes work for the US intelligence community. The CEO of Meta has on occasion admitted this publicly.
Approximately 60 percent of Malaysians get their news from social media. WhatsApp is at the forefront of this, virtually replacing the old coffee shop gossip sessions. WhatsApp is second only to YouTube in popularity.
Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the new CHATBOT app being developed by the MCMC and Meta, and will be available at the end of May. The objective of CHATBOT will be to control defamatory content via WhatsApp.
CHATBOT will be designed to reference reports by the JomCheckGroup and MyCheck from Bernama.
The issue here is how “correct” will be the so-called factcheckers themselves? Who funds the NGOs behind JomCheckGroup? Isn’t Bernama mandated to report and carry the government line? The short history of the factchecking industry is very poor. Many factcheckers are partisan and carry specific agendas. In addition, how will the AI algorithms be programmed? This will always add in biases to the app. We already know this from Meta and Google.
Is the MCMC going far beyond the CHATBOT with WhatsApp surveillance?
There is talk the MCMC is going far beyond developing just a CHATBOT for WhatsApp. With the access “key” to WhatsApp provided by Meta, the MCMC is engaged in developing a sophisticated system of surveillance into WhatsApp. The MCMC will be able to ease drop into chat groups and identify those WhatsApp users who are critical of the government.
Powerful AI based software will collect and analyse Metadata and be able to ‘zero in” on ‘persons of interest’ to the MCMC. The system will be able to find out the political views of any individual it desires. The MCMC will then alert police to intimidate those it deems are critical of the government on the WhatsApp platform. This system can be mis-used to ‘weed out’ and intimidate whistleblowers uncovering corruption of political connected cronies. The system will also be able to detect and identify ‘dis-loyal’ civil servants in private chat groups.
This new system will complement the Israeli Pegasus ease-dropping software currently in use by Malaysian law enforcement agencies. The Israeli NSO Group is the leading producer of WhatsApp surveillance software. There are many cases of misuse of this software internationally.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is in the process of building a ‘fake news’ verifier for the social media app WhatsApp. The MCMC is collaborating with Meta, a foreign owned company which undertakes work for the US intelligence community. The CEO of Meta has on occasion admitted this publicly.
Approximately 60 percent of Malaysians get their news from social media. WhatsApp is at the forefront of this, virtually replacing the old coffee shop gossip sessions. WhatsApp is second only to YouTube in popularity.
Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the new CHATBOT app being developed by the MCMC and Meta, and will be available at the end of May. The objective of CHATBOT will be to control defamatory content via WhatsApp.
CHATBOT will be designed to reference reports by the JomCheckGroup and MyCheck from Bernama.
The issue here is how “correct” will be the so-called factcheckers themselves? Who funds the NGOs behind JomCheckGroup? Isn’t Bernama mandated to report and carry the government line? The short history of the factchecking industry is very poor. Many factcheckers are partisan and carry specific agendas. In addition, how will the AI algorithms be programmed? This will always add in biases to the app. We already know this from Meta and Google.
Is the MCMC going far beyond the CHATBOT with WhatsApp surveillance?
There is talk the MCMC is going far beyond developing just a CHATBOT for WhatsApp. With the access “key” to WhatsApp provided by Meta, the MCMC is engaged in developing a sophisticated system of surveillance into WhatsApp. The MCMC will be able to ease drop into chat groups and identify those WhatsApp users who are critical of the government.
Powerful AI based software will collect and analyse Metadata and be able to ‘zero in” on ‘persons of interest’ to the MCMC. The system will be able to find out the political views of any individual it desires. The MCMC will then alert police to intimidate those it deems are critical of the government on the WhatsApp platform. This system can be mis-used to ‘weed out’ and intimidate whistleblowers uncovering corruption of political connected cronies. The system will also be able to detect and identify ‘dis-loyal’ civil servants in private chat groups.
This new system will complement the Israeli Pegasus ease-dropping software currently in use by Malaysian law enforcement agencies. The Israeli NSO Group is the leading producer of WhatsApp surveillance software. There are many cases of misuse of this software internationally.
This is all illegal and a massive breach of privacy.
The government surveillance of WhatsApp conversations is not something new. The illegal and clandestine Texas National Guard Operation Lonestar surveillance of illegals and smugglers was recently exposed, leading to arrests.
The Madani Owellian state
The government has almost complete control over the mainstream and online media today. There is no alternative media left in the country. The government is now attempting to control WhatsApp chat groups. WhatsApp is one of the last bastions of free speech about to be muzzled.
The MCMC is becoming the most powerful agency in the government, arguably surpassing JAKIM.
The MCMC is under the control of UMNO, with its chairman being a powerful UMNO warlord in Selangor. He is becoming the power behind minister Fahmi, with his unchecked control over internet media.
MCMC chairman Salim Fateh the real power behind Communication Minister Fahmi Fadzil
This is a massive weapon that will be used again Perikatan Nasional and its leaders in the run up to the next election. Objective investigative journalism is systematically being destroyed be destroyed by the MCMC.
The secretive administrative state is opaque and running the country.
If the government has any concerns about privacy, civil rights, and preventing abuse of power, it must create the position of a special ombudsman to deal with alleged abuses by the MCMC.
Kinda open secret, right? Serious people know about Meta, YT and the likes.
ReplyDeleteThe goto applications are Telegram and Protonmail isn't it?
Of course, for those with real stuffs to hide, it's just paper and pencil and chalk mark on the wall, right?
Whatsapp just for family and friendly banter or for makan-makan, minum-minum chatters. Seriously...
A bit of an add on...
DeleteRecently, a news item came up a news feed about a certain semiconductor company with "Osram" in its name, decided to pull out of its "new" factory investment in Kulim. It was a kinda raised brow newd item. Apparently the company lost a contract to supply to Apple, because of certain market change condition to Apple. And, another raised eyebrow point was that, the building was owned by consortium of MY statutory bodies, EPF and Khazanah that came off the top of my head right now...it was really a "Hmmm...interesting moment", at least for me.
Now, back to this Whatsapp story...
Watch the share of its parent, once part of the mighty "FAANG", now still with some degree of fang in the US stock market. But, every now and tben, observer will bring to focus on its share price trajectory, the downward kind. At least FB has, just as recent as its recent quarter report about two weeks back, being the first in a week of tech report that scrambled the subsequent tech stock to make sure no surprise to what parent had done.
So, this will also be a "will see what will happen" because, come-on...GM look too highly of MCMC as an nsa wannabe...seriously, how much sensitive things or unbridled viral things that MY market can carry? Beside, if WA close the door, there are others in the market. If it is for the global market surveillance, it is a joke right? There are guys who can come up with alternatives that will catch on.
If MCMC trying to be a stooge in the bigger global electronic surveilance sector, good with that.
Just don't left standing with the bag of poops when the music stop.
It. Is. A. War. To. The. Death.
And WA is just chickenfeed stuffs. Just don't look down of MY resourcesfulness...