Malaysia is strengthening control over online platforms with a series of new measures to limit teenagers from accessing harmful content on the internet. According to a May 22 announcement by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, new regulations will begin to be implemented from June 1.
The Malaysian media management agency said that online service providers will have to add new protection mechanisms to limit the registration and ownership of accounts for users under 16 years old.
Platforms are also forced to strengthen content governance mechanisms to reduce the risk of teenagers being exposed to content that is considered dangerous or inappropriate.
According to the announcement, these measures aim to establish limits and layers of protection suitable for each age group, especially for high-risk features on online platforms. Malaysia believes that strengthening technical barriers is necessary in the context of children and teenagers spending more and more time on social networks as well as digital services.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission requires platforms to build "effective reporting and feedback mechanisms", and apply agency verification measures to limit the abuse of online advertising for fraud or dissemination of harmful content. Platforms will also have to label content that is edited or manipulated when necessary.
The agency said that there will be a transition period for technology companies to fully implement the new requirements, but no specific deadline has been announced. This shows that Kuala Lumpur is choosing a step-by-step approach instead of immediately applying all regulations to technology businesses.
In recent years, Malaysia has continuously strengthened surveillance of the activities of social media companies after recording a sharp increase in harmful content on the digital environment. Officials in this country see online gambling, forms of online fraud, child pornography, adultery, cyberbullying and content related to race, religion and royalty are serious threats that need to be controlled.
Requirements for verifying advertisements and labeling manipulated content are seen as part of an expanded effort to improve transparency in cyberspace. Malaysia also wants to force technology platforms to respond faster to violation reports instead of letting harmful content exist for a long time.
