Malaysia’s new 16+ age limit for social media, under the Online Safety Act, aims to protect youth and is set for enforcement as early as July 2026
KULAI: The enforcement of a minimum age limit of 16 for social media use is expected to begin as early as July.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the initiative aims to protect children and adolescents from exploitation and inappropriate online content.
The measure is being carried out under the Online Safety Act (OnSA). Teo stated that discussions are already underway with social media platform providers to determine the most suitable implementation approach.
“We are now in the regulatory sandbox stage to identify the best, most effective and safest way to conduct age verification,” she said.
She added that the government is currently in the discussion and planning phase with the platforms.
The government is targeting all social media platforms to implement digital user identity verification (eKYC) by the end of the second quarter of 2026.
This system is intended to enforce the minimum age requirement for account registration.
When asked about cyberbullying involving national badminton player Toh Ee Wei, Teo said she had yet to receive confirmation from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission on whether any complaints had been lodged.
Separately, Teo highlighted the MADANI Government’s allocation of RM800 million for Early Schooling Assistance this year.
The initiative benefits approximately 5.2 million students from Year One to Form Six nationwide.
In Johor, 586,153 students received assistance involving a total allocation of RM87.9 million.
For the Kulai district alone, 58,264 students benefited from the RM8.7 million allocation.
