PETALING JAYA: Stricter age checks on social media may help shield children from harmful content, but parents and child rights advocates caution that privacy and digital literacy must not be overlooked.
They said requiring identity documents or facial recognition for age verification could be effective, but such methods also carry serious privacy risks.
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said children’s data is highly sensitive and once collected, it could be misused or leaked.
She said many parents might feel uncomfortable sharing such information with private firms.
While tighter checks could reduce exposure to inappropriate content, Noor Azimah stressed that they are not a “silver bullet”.
“Children are often resourceful, and determined users may still find ways around restrictions.
“The real solution has to be broader, like digital literacy education, parental engagement and stronger responsibility from tech companies,” she added.
She was responding to a call from Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, who said stronger age verification is needed to keep children under 13 off social media.
Child rights activist Dr Hartini Zainudin said the focus should go beyond setting age limits.
“Even children above the minimum age face risks online. Age verification alone will not stop grooming, scams or harmful content.
“What we really need is a combination of better digital literacy, stronger parental guidance and accountability from platforms.
“Technology cannot take the place of parenting,” said the co-founder of Yayasan Chow Kit.
Hakimi Zulkepli, 38, agreed that proper age checks could block children from unsuitable content.
He said he monitored his 13-year-old child’s activity by linking their accounts.
Cybersecurity expert Assoc Prof Datuk Dr Husin Jazri said legislation must underpin technological solutions.
He welcomed the Online Safety Act (ONSA), which comes into force next month, saying that by then, many non-technical hurdles could effectively be addressed.
While many verification technologies exist, none is foolproof, and most social media platforms are foreign-owned, he noted.
“Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses, but privacy safeguards can be built in.”
CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab said existing methods such as ID scanning, biometric checks and AI-driven systems had improved fraud detection but remained imperfect.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Even advanced tools like facial age estimation or credit card verification still have gaps, while privacy concerns remain valid,” he said.
He pointed to the United Kingdom, where mandatory age checks under the ONSA have triggered privacy concerns, with many users turning to Virtual Private Networks – tools that mask location and identity – to bypass restrictions.
Amirudin said newer approaches such as Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) could strike a balance between safety and privacy.
Under ZKP, a user verifies their age once with a trusted third party, which issues a secure digital token stored in their wallet.
“When a website requests verification, the system only confirms if the user meets the age requirement without revealing details like name or date of birth.
“However, ZKP is not without flaws. It cannot stop platforms from repeatedly requesting checks or collecting other information such as IP addresses and device data,” he added.
