E-commerce platform Shopee Malaysia has reaffirmed that it takes any violation of the law seriously and will cooperate with local authorities on the sale of pirated goods on the platform.
This came shortly after Astro Awani reported the illegal sale of two pirated local films, Ada Apa Dengan Dosa and Keluarga Iskandar The Movie.
Based on several screenshots posted by the news portal, the two movies were listed for sale on Shopee at between RM1 and RM5 yesterday.
However, the listings have been removed ever since.
In a statement, Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho said products that are found to be illegal or in violation of their policies will be removed from the listings.
“Sellers who are found to be in breach of these policies will be permanently banned on our platform,” he added.
Ho also noted that sellers on Shopee are independent individuals or businesses who are not associated with the platform, therefore Shopee has no part in creating the content of the listing.
However, he added that Shopee has a strict listing policy and only allows the sale of products and services that are in accordance with the country’s laws and regulations.
Responding to the matter of the sale of pirated movies, Ho said Shopee has already removed the relevant listings and banned the seller from the platform.
“We have also taken preemptive measures to blacklist any related keywords to intercept new attempts to sell and buy such items.”
Ho also encouraged users to reach out to them if they encounter similar listings on the platform.
“Users can reach out to us via the menu circle at the top right-hand corner of any product listing and click on the “report this product” option.
Following the incident yesterday, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said that the agency will not hesitate to block sites that sell pirated products.
The National Film Development Corporation (Finas) meanwhile, told Astro Awani that they are conducting an investigation into the sale of pirated local films on Shopee shortly after reports broke out.
“We will investigate both parties — the e-commerce and those who sold the films.
“Our investigation is to determine whether they have a distribution licence and whether they have obtained permission from the producers to sell the films,” said Finas chief executive officer Ahmad Idham Nadzri. – MALAY MAIL
