KUALA LUMPUR: There is no plan to hold parents responsible over underage social media use once new regulations prohibiting under-16s are implemented in 2026, says Teo Nie Ching.
The Deputy Communications Minister said that this was because there were challenges to holding parents accountable if children under 16 opened social media accounts.
“Are we really ready to punish parents too? We need political will, and the government must have the support of everyone in this House,” she said in Parliament on Monday (Nov 24).
Some MPs had questioned whether stricter rules could see Malaysia go further than Australia and penalise parents who allow minors access to social media.
She explained that the government’s proposal to restrict social media access for those under 16 differs from Australia’s model because it requires age verification rather than mere age assurance.
Australia, she said, relies on algorithms to estimate age based on interactions and content, without requiring documents or e-KYC (electronic Know-Your-Customer).
“In Australia, you don’t need to show your passport, IC, or MyDigital ID. The platform just studies what you post to estimate your age — that is, age assurance,” she said during the winding-up of the Communications Ministry’s committee-stage debate for Budget 2026 on Monday.
“What we want here is age verification. That means we need a process like e-KYC. Verification requires proof, not estimation. It’s a big difference,” she added.
Teo said that many platforms already verify certain accounts, such as influencers or public figures with blue ticks.
“If we can verify influencers and public figures, why can’t we verify age before someone opens an account? This is about safety, not convenience," she said.
"The government hopes platforms will implement e-KYC at account creation so children cannot bypass restrictions. Further discussions are planned with industry players to determine the rollout timing," Teo said.
She added that the government was working to tackle social media addiction, Internet dependency and strengthen digital literacy.
The "Internet Selamat" campaign, launched in January, has reached over 8,000 schools nationwide, including national, Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools and teacher-training institutes and universities.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysians under 16 would not be allowed to sign up for social media accounts from next year. Platform providers are expected to implement electronic know-your-customer identity verification next year.
