KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia plans to prohibit children under 16 from using social media starting next year, echoing a similar nationwide ban that will soon take effect in Australia.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said this weekend that the government is considering requiring platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok to verify users’ ages. He said companies could be asked to adopt electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) systems, using identification documents and biometric authentication to ensure compliance.
“We expect all platforms to implement this by next year,” Mr. Fahmi said at a cyber-scam awareness seminar in Kuala Lumpur.
The Ministry of Communications and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
While details on enforcement and timelines remain unclear, Malaysia would become one of the first countries — alongside Australia and Denmark — to move toward such a sweeping restriction. Australia’s law is set to deactivate hundreds of thousands of accounts belonging to children beginning Dec. 10, although questions remain about how effective enforcement will be.
Malaysia has intensified scrutiny of social media in recent months. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently linked technology use — without providing specifics — to the killing of a 16-year-old girl by a 14-year-old schoolmate.
In January, the government announced that social media and online messaging platforms would no longer be exempt from licensing requirements, part of an effort to curb scams, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes targeting children.
