KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — Malaysia is moving to implement a blanket ban on the use of social media for those under the age of 16, starting 2026.
The tighter regulations were mooted amid the recent spate of crime cases involving Malaysian schools, including the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old girl in Petaling Jaya and several incidents of sexual violence in schools across the country.
Malaysia is expected to closely follow the Australian model, which became the world’s first country to bar those under the age of 16 from having social media accounts last year.
Australia is expected to fully enforce the ban on December 10.
The Malaysian government has not specified the details of the proposed ban.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has floated the possibility of requiring social media platforms to implement electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) verification using government-issued documents like MyKad, passports and the MyDigital ID to authenticate users’ ages.
As Malaysia’s proposed ban takes shape, several countries across the world are mulling similar plans, including France, Denmark and Norway.
Australia
The Australian parliament passed historic legislation last year to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch.
From December 10, these platforms will have to deactivate all accounts of Australian users under 16 and prevent them from having an account until after they turn 16.
However, these children will still be allowed to use YouTube Kids, Google Classroom and WhatsApp and view most content on YouTube that does not require an account.
The law will not punish children or their parents for violations but would instead subject the social media platform involved to fines of up to US$33 million (RM136 million) for serious or recurring breaches.
Those under 16 with a social media account currently can opt to either download all their photos and messages, and put their accounts on hold until they turn 16, or simply delete their accounts.
Social media companies are introducing various age-verification measures.
Meta — which owns and operates Facebook, Instagram and Threads — will start removing accounts of those under 16 from December 4. Nevertheless, it will allow those wrongly flagged as under-16 to authenticate their age using a government ID or through a video selfie.
Meanwhile, Snapchat will allow users to verify their age using bank accounts or government-issued documents such as passports or driver’s licences, or by a selfie that will be used for facial age estimation.
