Government Wants To Ban Social Media For Kids Under 16 Next Year—Everyone’s Freaking Out
The government plans to enforce an age restriction preventing children under 16 from having social media accounts as protection from cyber crime.
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Malaysians aged 16 and below will not be allowed to have social media accounts in 2026.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said this decision was based on the cabinet’s plan to address cross-generational cybercrime, including protecting children from sexual predation.
Fahmi said it’s hoped that social media platforms will comply with the government’s decision to implement a restriction for those under 16 from creating accounts.
However, there are still questions on how this age restriction will be enforced since anyone could lie about their birth year.
Fahmi shared one of the mechanisms being considered is requiring social media platforms to implement e-KYC verification using government-issued documents such as MyKad, passports, and MyDigital ID.
E-KYC stands for electronic “Know Your Customer.” It’s a digital process of verifying a person’s identity online using technology like facial recognition or biometric data to confirm who they are.
Many voiced concerns about the age limit for social media usage, especially how it’s going to be enforced and how it’ll affect the studies of underprivileged students.
Some children rely on social media platforms to attend free tuition classes because they cannot afford tuition centres.
Some also questioned the logic of banning under-16s from using social media while allowing the same group to get married.
Other countries imposing an age limit for social media
Australia is the first country to ban social media use for those under 16 with penalties for platforms that fail to enforce the rule. The responsibility to enforce to rule lie on the social media companies.
In the United Kingdom, they introduced the Online Safety Act 2023 and the data protection law said children must be 13 or older to consent to data processing by social media and other online services.
France introduced a legislation to ban under-15s from accessing online services without parental permission.
In Germany, teens between the ages of 13 and 16 need parents’ permission to use social media. Meanwhile in Italy, children under 14 need to seek parental permission to sign up for social media.
As for Norway, the government is developing a plan to restrict social media usage for children under 15.
China took a stricter approach including limiting gaming hours for minors, and requiring real-name verification and facial recognition.
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