Malaysia enforced a sweeping ban on Monday, barring children under 16 years of age from owning social media accounts, the latest move in aworldwide effort to tighten online protections for young users.
The rules require platforms with at least 8 million users, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, to deploy age-verification systems and block underage account creation. Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to 10 million ringgit ($2.5 million). Parents whose children find workarounds, however, will not be penalized, as reported by AP.
Authorities say the measures target harmful content, cyberbullying and manipulative platform features designed to drive compulsive use. Platforms will also need to introduce safety-by-design protections and act against underage accounts and inappropriate content. A grace period will be given to complete implementation.
Malaysia joins a growing list of countries taking action. Australia has been the most stringent, with a full ban on social media for under-16s. Brazil and Indonesia have introduced age-based restrictions for social media access. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are in the process of studying and developing similar practices.
Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission stressed the rules are not about limiting children's access to the internet or digital technology, only about pushing platforms to put proper safeguards in place.
“These measures help strengthen the protection of children in the online environment, while providing added reassurance to parents navigating increasingly complex digital risks,” the regulator said.
Technology companies have yet to explain how they will comply. Meta’s southeast Asia public policy director Clara Koh warned in April that a blanket ban could push teenagers toward unregulated corners of the internet. She noted Meta has already launched restricted teen accounts for under-18s that limit contact, screen time and exposure to inappropriate content.
The move comes amid intense global pressure over social media's toll on children's mental health. In March, a US jury ordered Meta and YouTube to pay millions in damages after finding that platform design features contributed to harm suffered by a young user.
While many parents have backed Malaysia’s approach, critics have raised data privacy concerns. Age verification under the new rules requires a government ID, a requirement that has prompted alarm among civil libertarians and academics.
“It is very much following the trend but in a way that is raising alarms,” said Benjamin Loh, a social science lecturer at Monash University Malaysia. Without penalties for parents, families can simply create accounts on behalf of their children. “This is a major gap that unless regulators are willing to fix, will result in the law having little effect in stopping children from using social media,” he added.
