Malaysia to introduce new regulations aimed at protecting young people on online platforms

Malaysia will introduce new measures from June 1 to protect children and limit their exposure to harmful content on online platforms, the country’s communications regulator announced on Friday.

Under the new rules, online service providers will be required to introduce safeguards restricting account registration and ownership for users under 16, while also strengthening content governance on their platforms, according to a statement from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

The commission said the measures are intended to ensure age-appropriate protections and impose restrictions on high-risk features across online platforms.

Platform operators will also have to establish “effective reporting and response mechanisms, advertiser verification measures, and the labelling of manipulated content where appropriate,” it added.

A grace period will be granted to online platforms to comply with the new requirements, although the commission did not specify how long it would last.

Malaysia has intensified oversight of social media companies in recent years amid a sharp increase in harmful online content. Authorities have identified online gambling, scams, child pornography and grooming, cyberbullying, and content involving race, religion, and royalty as major concerns.

The government is also planning to introduce age verification for users later this year, in line with similar efforts worldwide aimed at limiting minors’ access to social media.