KUALA LUMPUR: MIC will submit a proposal to the Communications Ministry on regulating the use of social media, especially TikTok, for users under the age of 18.
Senator Datuk Dr R. Nelson said he has received the memorandum, submitted by the MIC Women chief N. Saraswati in the Parliament building today, which focused on the effects of social media on children, and he will present it to the Communications Ministry during the Dewan Negara meeting this week.
“They (MIC) want it to be regulated for name verification which the ministry is already talking about. Effective January, you have to register but in addition to that MIC Women is concerned about the effects (of social media) on children and students.
“The memorandum emphasises the effects of social media on them (children and students) and what the government is going to do, not just about identity but who can use it and the time allocated for kids, parental control, and how can we talk about such things in the context of social media,“ he told Bernama at the Parliament building here today.
He also said the matter requires the views of experts and the ministry to form the best solution in addition to producing more responsible young social media users to prevent them from being involved in cybercrime or becoming victims of cybercrime.
Meanwhile, Saraswati said the amount of time school students and children waste on social media is very worrying because the act not only affects their academic performance but also their health.
“With TikTok, the learning level of school students seems worse now than before. This group can stay online for seven hours and this can have adverse effects on their health too,“ she added.
