KUALA LUMPUR: Parents need to look beyond screen time and phone checks when protecting children from harmful online interactions, with regular conversations and trust just as important in helping them recognise manipulation and seek help.
Parent Action Group for Education president Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahman said parents needed to understand the basic safety and reporting functions of the platforms their children used while setting clear boundaries around private online interactions.
“The fact that police detected minors allegedly producing and selling such material shows how quickly children can move from exposure to participation.
“This situation tells us that we cannot rely on parents simply knowing what apps their children use.
“We need much stronger digital-safety education, parental awareness and platform responsibility,” she said in an interview yesterday.
Azimah noted that parents should establish trust before a problem arises so children would feel safe disclosing uncomfortable or frightening online encounters.
“Parents must regularly tell their children: If something online makes you uncomfortable, frightened or confused, come to me. You will not be punished for telling me,” she said.
That trust, said Azimah, should be reinforced through age-appropriate conversations about consent, privacy, manipulation and online boundaries rather than waiting until a child encountered a problem.
Senior lawyer Datuk Joy Wilson Appukuttan said Malaysia already had several laws that could be used against online sexual offences, including provisions under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, Penal Code, Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and the Online Safety Act 2025.
He said the challenge was ensuring enforcement kept pace with the increasingly sophisticated ways children use digital tools, while also addressing the risks posed by rapidly evolving online platforms.
“The enforcement agencies will have to be on their toes to seek out these offenders committing such crimes online,” he said.
He said the protection of children remained paramount when minors were involved, given their vulnerability and the possibility that they might not fully understand the consequences of their actions.
At the same time, Joy said children were increasingly capable of using software and digital tools to create content, including AI-generated material.
“Education therefore had to address the realities children faced online, rather than treating social media and digital technology as separate from their everyday lives.
“Schools needed to address the realities children faced online,” he said, calling for schools to discuss sex education and responsible use of software and social media, as well as the risks associated with online content.
Lessons on online and social media use could be integrated into existing school programmes to help children understand both the risks and positive uses of technology, he added.
