KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 -- Malaysian authorities are escalating pressure on Telegram after accusing the messaging platform of routinely ignoring requests to take down harmful content - a move that has led to a rare civil suit and threats of stricter regulation.

In a Free Malaysia Today report, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said Telegram has shown the lowest compliance rate among all major social media platforms in Malaysia, acting on fewer than half of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission's (MCMC) takedown requests.

"I have ordered MCMC to call Telegram for a meeting next week to discuss the issue," Fahmi told reporters today after an event in Pantai Dalam.

The remarks come days after MCMC filed a civil law...