KUALA LUMPUR: Southeast Asia is facing an unprecedented surge of AI-driven online child exploitation and Malaysia is already showing early signs of the same high-risk patterns, Unicef said, based on findings revealed at the 2025 Asean ICT Forum on Child Protection yesterday.
Speaking to theSun in an exclusive interview, Unicef regional adviser for child protection Rachel Harvey said Malaysia mirrors a regional trend where children are increasingly exposed to online grooming, coercion and the circulation of non-consensual images, with emerging technologies accelerating the danger.
“There is a serious situation in Asean and Malaysia is very much part of that landscape.
“Unicef’s study shows up to one in 20 children in this region experienced online sexual abuse in the preceding year and that figure is almost certainly underreported. Children often cannot speak out.”
Harvey said high internet penetration brings opportunity but also sharp increases in harm, with the most rapid shift driven by generative AI.
“In the last six months alone, companion bots have learned how to sexually engage with children, initiating inappropriate conversations, requesting and sending images back.
“These systems never existed a few years ago, so the laws and safeguards designed back then simply could not imagine today’s risks.”
She warned that predators are no longer acting alone.
“Organised crime is using tech, using AI, using impersonation to lure children into exploitation, trafficking networks and scam centres. The risks are multiple and intersecting, both online and offline.
“This is a cross-border problem. No country can solve it alone. But with shared responsibility and unified action, we can make the digital world safer for every child.
“If we act after harm occurs, it’s almost too late. We need platforms, apps, games and devices designed with safety embedded from the start. Prevention-by-design is the only way this region can keep pace.”
Delivering opening remarks at the event, Unicef representative to Malaysia Robert Gass said global reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) spiked from nearly 7,000 in 2024 to about 440,000 cases in the first half of 2025.
“One in every four Malaysian children encounters sexual or disturbing content online unexpectedly and while AI-generated material still represents a small portion of overall cases, its growth trajectory is deeply alarming.”
Gass said blocking children from the internet is not feasible.
“Children are online because the world is online. Real protection is not about cutting access – it is about ensuring the entire ecosystem safe.”
