Malaysia Wants eKYC For Social Media Platforms, But Some Still Pending Licence

The move aims to protect minors and improve compliance with community standards on digital platforms.

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Malaysia wants to compel social media companies to verify the identities of their users through electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) systems, ensuring that children under the age of 13 cannot open accounts.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the requirement aims to protect minors and improve compliance with existing community standards on digital platforms.

“When I met representatives from social media platforms last month, I made it clear that Malaysia will make identity verification mandatory, especially to prevent children below 13 from having accounts,” Fahmi told reporters after launching the Nadi on Wheels programme in Sindumin, Sabah.

He said he will present the implementation timeline to the Cabinet before making an official announcement.

Discussions With Platforms To Begin Next Week

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will meet with social media companies next week to outline immediate steps for introducing eKYC requirements.

According to Fahmi, the verification system is not limited to child protection, it will also help curb online crimes such as scams, gambling promotions, and fraudulent advertisements.

What happened to the social media licence?

Remember back in January, all social media platforms were supposed to have applied for a mandatory licence?

Companies that operate social media platforms and services with at least eight million Malaysian users; such as Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Telegram were required to apply for this licence before the regulation went into effect on 1 January, 2025.

As of July this year, only a handful of the platforms have successfully obtained the Application Service Provider Class, otherwise known as ASP(C), licence.

They are WeChat International Private Limited, TikTok Private Limited, and Telegram Messenger Incorporated.

American tech giants Meta (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and Google’s YouTube were reported to have been in the final stages of their application process, however, a Malay Mail article dated 30 July quoted Fahmi Fadzil as saying that the US-based platforms have yet to acquire the ASP(C) licence.

It’s now October and there hasn’t been any new updates on that front.

So is eKYC doable?

We reached out to a source in the social media industry to ask if this age verification system is doable.

The source said it is not as easy as flipping a switch, and they predict pushback from the platforms.

“Other countries like Australia and those in Europe have an under 16 social media ban but platforms did not implement eKYC or that kind of identity verification,” the source said.

Touching on the licence issue, the source pointed out that platforms like Meta and Twitter still haven’t obtained their ASP(C) licence, so how does the government plan on compelling them to implement eKYC?

The source added that the government could first learn from e-Wallet based platforms that have eKYC integrated seamlessly and see if it’s applicable for social media dynamics.

Another matter worth looking into, according to the source, is if eKYC for social media is part of the Online Safety Act, which is still in the works.

In short, eKYC for social media platforms in Malaysia is far from being a done deal yet, the source remarked.

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