KUALA LUMPUR: Child online safety rules should not automatically mean banning all children under the age of 16 from using digital platforms. Instead, regulations must focus on making platforms inherently safer while sharing responsibility among parents, providers, regulators and society, says the Malaysian Bar.
The Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA), which will roll out on June 1, will require users to verify their age using identity cards, passports or other official documents.
The Bar’s AI, Cyberlaw and Data Protection Committee chairperson Sarah Yong Li Hsien said Malaysia’s online safety laws must protect children without heavy intrusion into their privacy, such as using voluntary age-checks and parental tools instead of requiring mandatory identification.
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“The Bar has emphasised that any implementation method relating to age verification should be transparent, proportionate and subject to appropriate public consultation and safeguards, particularly given the implications for privacy and other fundamental rights,” she said.
Speaking on children’s online safety, Yong said responsibilities should be shared, with roles tailored to the capacity of influence.
“Parents and caregivers should provide supervision, set boundaries and support digital literacy, while platforms and regulators like the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) must offer parental control tools and educational modules to help families.”
Yong added that educators and schools also need to teach digital citizenship and integrate online safety into the curriculum.
“Platforms need to adopt safety‑by‑design with age‑appropriate defaults and effective reporting tools, such as built‑in safety settings, child‑friendly design features and protections tailored to younger users.
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“Meanwhile, regulators and lawmakers must set clear legal standards, provide oversight and enforcement, ensure remedies exist and are applied, and support education and victim services.”
She said the Bar has been actively engaging in child online safety through Continuing Professional Development programmes (training for lawyers), including webinars and circulars on cyberbullying, online exploitation and preventive legal education, which have received a strong response.
Although Malaysia’s ONSA and child rights forums highlight platforms’ duty to protect children, families and society remain central to online safety, she stressed.
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When asked whether lawyers would benefit from the new Act, Yong explained that the law mainly sets out clear responsibilities for platforms.
“While it may not directly grant lawyers new rights of action, it could make it easier to prove negligence by pointing to the responsibilities the Act sets as legal benchmarks. Its full impact, however, depends on how case law develops,” she added.
