Malaysia has begun enforcing rules that bar children younger than 16 from owning social media accounts, joining a growing global effort to strengthen online safety protections for young users. The regulations require social media platforms with at least 8 million users, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, to implement age-verification systems and prevent users under 16 from creating accounts.
As per media reports, companies that fail to comply with the regulations could face penalties of up to 10 million ringgit (approximately $2.5 million). However, parents whose children bypass the restrictions will not face penalties.
The Malaysian government has said the measures have been introduced to protect children from harmful content, cyberbullying and platform features that encourage excessive use. Several countries, including Australia, Brazil and Indonesia, have already introduced or announced age-based restrictions for children’s access to social media, while Britain, France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea have been studying or developing similar measures.
Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission has clarified that the rules have not been designed to prevent children from accessing the internet or digital technology. Instead, the regulations have placed responsibility on service providers to address online harms and ensure age-appropriate safeguards are in place.
The new framework has also required platforms to introduce safety-by-design features, including protections against manipulative design elements that encourage compulsive use, while taking action against underage accounts and harmful content.
Technology companies have yet to detail how they will comply with the new requirements. The regulator has said a grace period will be provided to allow platforms to complete the implementation of age-verification systems.
Meta’s Director of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, Clara Koh, had cautioned in April that a blanket ban on users under 16 could drive teenagers away from regulated platforms and toward less-regulated areas of the internet. She had also highlighted Meta’s “teen accounts” feature, which includes restrictions on contact, screen time and exposure to inappropriate content for users under 18.
The move has come amid increasing pressure on governments worldwide to address concerns about social media’s impact on children’s mental health and online safety. In March, a US jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay millions of dollars in damages in a case alleging that platform design features contributed to harm suffered by a young user.
The policy has also raised concerns around data privacy. Benjamin Loh, a social science lecturer at Monash University Malaysia, has said that requiring government identification for age verification could raise alarms, while adding that age-based restrictions have not consistently proven effective in other jurisdictions. He also noted that families could potentially bypass the rules by creating accounts on behalf of children.
