Malaysia bans under‑16 social media, requires age checks

Malaysia has begun enforcing a new law that prohibits children under the age of 16 from creating or maintaining social media accounts, a significant regulatory move aimed at improving online safety for minors. The rules, which took effect on Monday, require major platforms with at least eight million users in the country, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, to implement robust age-verification systems.

Companies that fail to comply with the regulations, enforced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), could face fines of up to 10 million ringgit, approximately 2.5 million dollars. The government has stated the measures are designed to protect young users from harmful content, cyberbullying, and platform features that encourage compulsive use. Officials emphasized the rules are not intended to block children from the internet entirely but to ensure greater responsibility from technology companies and parents.

The new framework mandates that social media platforms verify a user’s age against official government records, such as identity cards or passports, during registration. While the restrictions apply immediately to new accounts,...