Malaysia plans to ban social media for users younger than 16 starting from next year, joining a growing list of nations choosing to limit access to digital platforms due to concerns about child safety.
Malaysian Minister of Communications Fahmi Fadzil on Sunday said that the government was reviewing mechanisms used to impose age restrictions for social media use in Australia and other nations, citing a need to protect young people from online harms such as cyberbullying, financial scams and child sexual abuse.
“We hope by next year that social media platforms will comply with the government’s decision to bar those under the age of 16 from opening user accounts,” he told reporters, according to a video of his remarks posted online by the Star.
Photo: Reuters
The effects of social media on children’s health and safety have become a growing global concern, with companies including TikTok, Snapchat, Google and Meta Platforms — the operator of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp — facing lawsuits in the US for their role in fueling a mental health crisis.
In Australia, social media platforms are poised to deactivate accounts registered to users younger than 16 next month, under a sweeping ban for teenagers that is being closely watched by regulators around the world.
France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Greece are also jointly testing a template for an age verification app.
Malaysia’s neighbor Indonesia in January said that it planned to set a minimum age for social media users, but later issued a less stringent regulation requiring platforms to filter negative content and impose stronger age verification measures.
Malaysia has put social media companies under greater scrutiny in response to what it claims to be a rise in harmful content, including online gambling, and posts related to race, religion and royalty.
Platforms and messaging services with more than 8 million users in Malaysia are now required to obtain a license under a new regulation that came into effect in January.
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