KUALA LUMPUR – The government is considering the use of MyDigital ID as a mechanism to verify the age of social media account owners, said Deputy Communications Minister, Teo Nie Ching.
She explained that this initiative aims to ensure that social media users are not under 16 years old, in line with the government’s efforts to safeguard the safety and wellbeing of children in the digital space.
“The government’s proposal is to use MyDigital ID as one of the tools or mechanisms to verify the age of social media users. This will be discussed further with platform providers,” she said during a question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Teo was responding to a supplementary question from Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka), who asked how the government planned to enforce the ban on children under 16 from owning social media accounts, and the challenges of implementing this against international social media platforms.
Teo noted that restricting the ownership of social media accounts by younger users was not a new concept, as several countries, including Australia, had already adopted similar measures.
In related developments, Teo also mentioned that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had received 812 complaints regarding the spread of fake news across the country between January 1 and November 20, recorded through the Consumer Redress Portal (CRP).
She highlighted that some complaints involved the dissemination of false information about government initiatives, such as the Rahmah Cash Aid (STR) and Basic Rahmah Aid (SARA).
“There were also complaints about false information aimed at causing confusion and panic among the public,” she added.
Teo was responding to a question from Captain (R) Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjong Karang) regarding statistics on public complaints related to internet/5G coverage and the spread of fake news on social media platforms, including the number of complaints, actions taken, and trends since the start of 2025. – November 24, 2025