Malaysia moves to bar under-16s from social media as youth safety fears grow

Malaysia is preparing to ban children under 16 from using social media from next year, stepping into a global trend of tougher digital controls aimed at protecting young people from online harm.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the government is reviewing age-verification systems used in countries such as Australia and plans to ensure platforms comply with the new restriction. The goal, he said, is to limit exposure to cyberbullying, financial scams and child sexual exploitation, risks that officials argue are escalating faster than current safeguards can handle.

“We hope by next year that social media platforms will comply with the government’s decision to bar those under the age of 16 from opening user accounts,” Fahmi told reporters, signalling that enforcement rather than voluntary compliance will define the policy.

The move comes as tech giants including Meta, TikTok and Google face mounting scrutiny worldwide over their impact on children’s mental health. In the US, several of these companies are already fighting lawsuits tied to allegations they contributed to a youth mental health crisis. Australia, meanwhile, is weeks away from enforcing its own under-16 ban, a model Malaysian authorities appear to be closely studying.

Across Europe, countries including France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Greece are testing shared age-verification systems, while Indonesia has opted for a softer approach, requiring tighter filters and stronger verification rather than an outright age ban.

Malaysia has steadily tightened oversight of digital platforms, introducing licensing rules this year for services with more than eight million users and cracking down on content linked to gambling, race, religion and the monarchy. Officials frame the new policy as an extension of that broader regulatory push.