Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil has called on social media operators to strictly enforce age limit guidelines. The minister said that platform providers must take action and failure to do so will result in the ministry holding a discussion on the best course of action.
“All platforms at the moment (such as) Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X, they are indeed in the community standard or community guideline, each of which is limited to only 13 years old and above who can open an account on social media platforms”, said Fahmi. He added that the focus is on how these platforms implement the age limit and verify the age of their users.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is currently working on a Code of Conduct for social media and messaging platform providers, which will go hand in hand with the upcoming licensing requirement that will be enforced starting 1 January 2025. A public draft of the code of conduct showed that, among other responsibilities and liabilities, platform operators will need to roll out effective age verification measures, but it did not stipulate on the method.
The communications ministry is also seeking an amendment to the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to provide authorities with the power to compel platforms to reveal user data upon request, seemingly as an effort to curb the spread of misinformation through fake accounts.
(Source: Bernama)
