KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has begun enforcing new online safety regulations requiring major social media platforms to verify users’ ages and prevent children under 16 from creating accounts.
The rules apply to social media services with at least 8 million users in the Southeast Asian nation, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
However, the communications regulator said platforms will be given a grace period to comply, though no specific timeline was announced.
The move places Malaysia among a growing number of countries seeking to limit young people’s access to social media amid increasing concerns about the impact of digital platforms on children’s well-being and mental health.
According to a document issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), affected platforms must introduce age-verification measures, including checks using official records such as national identity cards or passports.
The MCMC said companies that fail to comply with the law could face fines of up to 10 million Malaysian ringgit (about $2.5 million).
Australia became the first country to enact a similar law in December, requiring TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other major platforms to remove accounts belonging to users under 16 or face substantial penalties.
Indonesia followed with comparable regulations in March, holding platforms responsible for enforcing a ban on social media use by children younger than 16.
Several European countries, including Turkey, Norway, Greece, France, Spain and Denmark, have also announced plans to introduce similar restrictions.
Free speech organization Article 19 and several other advocacy groups criticized blanket social media bans, saying children should not be excluded from the digital world.
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In a joint statement, they argued that young people should be able to access online spaces safely and with their rights protected, adding that broad prohibitions fail to address the underlying business models and systemic issues of social media companies.
