KULAI, January 27 — Malaysia plans to enforce a minimum age limit of 16 for social media use starting July 2026, aiming to protect children and adolescents from online exploitation and inappropriate content, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching announced.
Currently in the regulatory sandbox phase, the government is testing and refining age verification methods under the Online Safety Act (OnSA), working closely with platform providers to implement digital user identity verification (eKYC) for account registration by the end of the second quarter.
Teo added that the initiative aligns with broader child protection efforts, noting the MADANI Government’s RM800 million Early Schooling Assistance (BAP) programme this year, which benefits over 5.2 million students nationwide, including 58,264 students in Kulai receiving RM8.7 million in aid.
