A ban on social media accounts for children under 16 that took effect June 1 has made Malaysia one of the latest countries to impose age-based limits on access to digital platforms.
The rules require major social media companies to prevent people younger than 16 from registering or holding accounts. Platforms are expected to verify users' ages and strengthen safeguards against harmful content, cyberbullying, grooming, scams and addictive design features.
About 8 million of the 36 million people in Malaysia are younger than 16. The Malaysian government says the measure is intended to protect children, not cut them off from technology altogether.
Officials have argued that stronger regulation is needed as minors face growing exposure to online harms and as parents struggle to monitor what children see and do on platforms designed to hold their attention for as long as possible.
The rules apply to large platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, placing much of the enforcement burden on multinational technology firms.Social media bans: What it means for youTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
