KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has yet to discuss whether to emulate Australia's landmark rule banning children under 16 from using social media platforms.
Unity government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysia is currently following each social media platform's community guidelines on age restrictions.
For now, Malaysia would monitor how social media platforms are protecting children based on their community guidelines before making any decisions, he said.
"We are observing and studying the measures and efforts of many other countries, not just Australia.
"At the same time, we all know that all social media platforms currently prohibit children under the age of 13 from having accounts.
"WhatsApp, for instance, sets the minimum age at 16.
"So, at the very least, based on the community guidelines or standards provided by these platforms, we want to know what steps they are taking to ensure that children below the age limits they themselves have set are not using these platforms.
"Therefore, we will start with the age restrictions they have determined.
"If we see whether they are capable or not, then I believe we will review further," the communications minister told reporters after the closing ceremony of the Communications Carnival here today.
On Thursday, Australian lawmakers passed landmark rules banning under-16s from social media, approving one of the world's toughest crackdowns on popular sites like Facebook, Instagram, and X.
The bill has now passed both parliamentary chambers with bipartisan support, and social media firms will soon be expected to take "reasonable steps" to prevent young teens from having accounts.
https://www.nst.com.my/amp/world/world/2024/11/1141063/australia-passes-...
Fahmi said Malaysia is currently focusing on three main areas of online harm, which include online gambling and scams, cyberbullying, and sexual crimes against children and paedophilia.
To address this, he said, Malaysia has amended the definition of mule accounts and will follow up with amendments to the Penal Code.
"God willing, these amendments will include definitions of cyberbullying and crimes such as doxxing.
"As I mentioned earlier, on Monday, God willing, we will table amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act to introduce several improvements to the Act, including those related to social media.
"Moving forward, God willing, there will be a new Online Security Bill introduced. All these efforts and initiatives aim to ensure the Internet is safer, particularly for children and families," he said.