Malaysia on Monday started enforcing new rules that prohibit children under the age of 16 from having social media accounts, joining a growing number of countries seeking to improve online safety for young users.
Under the new regulations, social media companies must introduce age-verification systems and prevent users younger than 16 from creating accounts. The rules apply to platforms with at least 8 million users, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Companies that fail to follow the regulations could face fines of up to 10 million ringgit (about $2.5 million). However, parents will not be punished if their children manage to bypass the restrictions.
The Malaysian government said the measures are designed to protect children from harmful online content, cyberbullying and platform features that encourage excessive screen time and addictive use.
Malaysia joins countries such as Australia, Brazil and Indonesia, which have already introduced or announced restrictions on children's access to social media. Several other nations, including Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea, are also considering similar measures.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said the rules are not intended to block children from using the internet or digital technology. Instead, they aim to ensure that service providers take greater responsibility for online safety and put age-appropriate protections in place.
“These measures help strengthen the protection of children in the online environment, while providing added reassurance to parents in navigating increasingly complex digital risks,” the regulator said in a statement issued last month.
Social media platforms will also be required to introduce safety features that discourage compulsive use and take stronger action against underage accounts and harmful content.
Technology companies have not yet explained how they will fully comply with the new requirements. The regulator said platforms will be given a grace period to complete the rollout of age-verification systems.
In April, Clara Koh, Meta’s director of public policy for Southeast Asia, warned that a blanket ban on users under 16 could have unintended consequences by pushing teenagers toward less-regulated parts of the internet. She noted that Meta has already introduced “teen accounts” for users under 18, with restrictions on contact, screen time and exposure to inappropriate content.
Malaysia’s move comes as governments worldwide face increasing pressure to address concerns about the impact of social media on children's mental health and online safety.
In March, a US jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay millions of dollars in damages in a case that alleged certain platform design features contributed to harm suffered by a young user.
While many parents have welcomed the new rules, privacy advocates have raised concerns about the age-verification process.
Benjamin Loh, a social science lecturer at Monash University Malaysia, said the requirement for government-issued identification to verify age has sparked concerns over personal data protection.
He also questioned the effectiveness of age-based restrictions, noting that experiences in other countries have shown mixed results. Since parents face no penalties, he said, families could easily bypass the rules by creating accounts on behalf of their children.
“Unless regulators address this loophole, the law may have limited success in preventing children from using social media,” Loh said.
