KUALA LUMPUR: Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has urged TikTok to implement a proper age verification system to stop children under 13 from using the platform, warning that the issue has become increasingly concerning in Malaysia.
He said TikTok’s own community guidelines prohibit children below 13 from creating accounts, but in reality, many primary school pupils are already active on the app.
“In many of my visits to schools, including primary schools, I found that children as early as Year 1 already have TikTok accounts.
“Although TikTok says under-13 users are not allowed, the reality is that it is happening,” he said after a meeting with TikTok representatives at Bukit Aman today.
Fahmi said the government had raised the matter directly with the platform and called for stronger safeguards, including age verification measures.
“We told TikTok that there must be a mechanism for verifying users’ ages.
“We leave it to TikTok, MCMC and the police to study what mechanism is best, taking into account what has been done in countries such as Singapore and Australia,” he said.
He cited China as an example, where certain apps restrict features if identity verification is not completed.
“On platforms like Xiaohongshu, users without verified identities cannot post comments or share content.
“The issue here is online safety. We need to ensure that children are not exposed to risks simply because the platform does not enforce its own rules,” he said.
Fahmi said that the government will continue discussions with TikTok and other social media companies to push for stronger protections for children and families.
