KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia will use a different mechanism from Australia in enforcing the social media ban for children under 16, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
He said Malaysia prefers a platform-proposed age verification mechanism, describing it as more practical, enforceable and privacy-protective than Australia’s “age assurance” approach.
According to him, Facebook has formally offered to assist with verification using government-issued documents.
“I received a letter from the Facebook Regional Director stating openly and officially that Facebook is prepared to help with user verification using government-issued documents.
“The idea did not come from me. It came from Facebook, and I would like to thank Dr Raphael Frankel for proposing it. We will likely take that path,” Fahmi said in an interview with Bernama.
Fahmi added that beginning January 1, the government will roll out a regulatory sandbox involving the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and selected social media platforms to assess child-protection mechanisms in a controlled environment.
The sandbox will allow regulators and platforms to evaluate risks, test enforcement capability and fine-tune technical and operational requirements before full implementation. Fahmi said the trial will run for several months to ensure safeguards are effective and cannot be easily bypassed.
He stressed that the approach is not about simply issuing directives, but about aligning government policy with platform capability to ensure meaningful protection. If one method proves unsuitable, Malaysia will consider alternatives before enforcement.
Fahmi added that while Malaysia is learning from Australia, Denmark and others, its policy and implementation will be tailored to local realities, with a strong emphasis on user privacy and children’s online safety.
It was previously reported that Malaysia will prohibit children aged 16 and below from having their own social media accounts from next year, to protect them from online harm.
Australia recently became the first country in the world to enforce a social media ban for children under 16, with the legislation officially coming into force on Wednesday, December 10.— December 27, 2025