PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet meeting on Friday (Oct 17) discussed a proposal to raise the age limit to 16 for Malaysians to register social media accounts, says Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi, who is also the unity government spokesman, said this age limit had been set by various countries, such as Australia and Indonesia.
He said the proposed age limit requires social media providers to introduce a verification mechanism for their account holders, using local national identification documents.
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"The age limit will be enforced by registering through official documents such as MyKad, passports, or MyDigital ID.
"This will be discussed further by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with social media providers in Singapore next week," he told the weekly post-Cabinet press conference here on Friday (Oct 17).
At the same time, Fahmi said, a new guideline will be issued to schools next week to conduct random spot checks of students.
"This (can be at) any time of the week," he added.
Fahmi also said there was a proposal for the police to have a presence in schools.
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"A full statement will be issued by the Home Ministry shortly. This is to ensure that the presence of police will send a signal that schools are a safe place," he added.
Fahmi said the Cabinet also discussed setting up a special task force to identify issues faced by schools nationwide.
"A report will be prepared as soon as possible to be tabled before the Cabinet for further action," he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Cabinet was also considering a ban on smartphones for those below 16.
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Meanwhile, Fahmi said he has ordered the MCMC to take action on e-commerce sites selling illegal items such as counterfeit products and drugs.
"If e-commerce platforms do not cooperate adequately, further action will be taken against them to ensure they abide by our laws," he said.
These laws could include the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Online Safety Act 2024, he added.
