Malaysia enforces under-16 social media ban

KUALA LUMPUR, June 01: Malaysia on Monday began enforcing rules barring millions of children younger than 16 from having social media accounts, joining a growing global effort to tighten safety protections. Not all families approved, and critics raised concerns about data protection and potential surveillance.

Social media platforms with at least 8 million users in Malaysia, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, must implement age-verification systems and block users under 16 from creating accounts.

Malaysia's Communi-cations and Multimedia Commission said age verification for existing users will be rolled out over the next six months. Users identified as under 16 will have a month to download or transfer data, including photos and videos, before restrictions or other actions are applied.    �"AP