Malaysia to enforce age verification for social media users under 16

Malaysia's new under-16 initiative, which requires social networks to ensure that no children under 16 are using their services, will come into force on June 1. The country's cabinet approved the new rules in November 2025, a year after Australia's senate passed a similar bill but before its rules came into effect. Several other countries aside from Malaysia followed Australia's example in introducing regulations to keep children out of social media websites and apps in their countries, including Indonesia. Other nations, including the UK and Spain, are also mulling a similar ban.

Under Malaysia's new rules, children under 16 will not be permitted to register for social media accounts. Apps and websites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube will be required to implement age verification measures to ensure that they have no users in the country younger than the minimum age. New users will have go through verification upon signing up, and old users will be prompted to verify that they're older than 16. "The measure is aimed at mitigating child users' exposure to harmful content, unsafe interactions and platform features that may not be suitable for their age," the Malaysian government said.

The new rules are results-based, which means online platforms are free to choose what age verification technologies and measures to adopt. They are, however, required to implement measures that rely on government IDs issued by Malaysia or by "a competent authority in another jurisdiction" for verification. Websites and apps are required to block users who fail verification from being able to create an account, as well as to restrict their access if they're existing users.

In addition to implementing age verification, social media companies will also also be required to provide "clear and accessible reporting mechanisms for harmful content affecting child use." They are expected to introduce "age-appropriate protections and safety-by-design features" and to take action on reports involving accounts potentially owned by users below 16. Since June 1 is only a few days away, Malaysia is giving social media companies a grace period to implement an age verification process. The Malaysian government didn't say how much time they're getting, only that it will be "reasonable" and that it will be informing social media providers about relevant timelines.