The barring of social media use by those under 16 in Malaysia is no longer a question of if, but when. And the answer to that question seems to by the middle of the year, according to comms minister Fahmi Fadzil. Or more specifically, the government would likely have secured the cooperation of social media platforms to make it happen by then.
The Malay Mail cites the minister as saying “by mid-year we will obtain cooperation from all social media platforms to restrict social media usage to those aged 16 and above”. He added that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is currently in talks with said companies about the implementation of age-appropriate safeguards.
He also stressed that platforms that fail to comply with the Malaysia Online Safety Act will face regulatory action. On this, Fahmi brings up Grok, which has been barred from access locally. The MCMC is also considering taking legal action against X for its implementation and lack of guardrails in its use.
On that note, the report also notes that the MCMC is developing 10 subsidiary legislations under the aforementioned Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866). These will focus on issues related to online child protection, including ensuring that content is age-appropriate.
(Source: Malay Mail)
