The Child Protection Code (CPC) under the Online Safety Act (ONSA) 2025 came into force earlier this year, requiring licensed social media providers to implement measures to protect young users online. These include the implementation of age verification mechanisms to prevent underage users from holding accounts on these platforms. Now, these companies have been given a deadline for submitting their online safety plans to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
According to Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching, social media providers have until 28 December 2026 to provide these plans. Said plans must include details on the measures and improvements these companies intend to implement to create a safer digital environment for users.
In addition to this, social media platforms must implement age verification requirements by early January 2027, as this deadline marks the end of the current transition period. Teo also explained that following this transition period, social media providers will submit all the data on the number of accounts they have verified and closed.
These details were disclosed during question time in the Dewan Rakyat in response to a query from Wong Shu Qi (Pakatan Harapan-Kluang). Wong sought clarification on the platforms’ compliance with age verification requirements, including the number of accounts verified and blocked, as well as action against service providers that failed to fulfill these obligations.
Teo revealed that MCMC had issued directives to companies like Meta, TikTok, and Google, to ensure the implementation of age verification systems. Furthermore, the commission had requested relevant information to assess compliance. Beyond that, Teo reiterated the penalties for non-compliance, which include fines of up to RM1 million and an additional fine of up to RM100,000 for each day the offence continues.
With all this in mind, the deputy minister noted that the age verification mechanisms do not involve verifying user identities. Therefore, these measures would not be effective in addressing the issue of fake accounts. She also stated that this problem would require further examination and discussion on the appropriate actions.
(Source: The Edge)
