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Friends, in today’s modern era, social media platforms have become an important part of life, but they are harmful for children, due to which many governments of the world have taken strict steps, in such a situation, recently Malaysia has implemented new strict rules, which limit access to social media for minors. Starting June 1, children under 16 will no longer be allowed to create new accounts on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

These new rules have sparked international discussion about children’s online safety, and may impact similar policy debates in countries like India.

New online security law comes into force

The Malaysian government has taken these steps under its new ‘Online Safety Act’, which has been designed with the aim of creating a safer internet environment for children.

Main provisions of the law:

Children under 16 years of age will be barred from creating new accounts on major social media platforms.

This rule will be applicable to those platforms which have more than 80 lakh users in Malaysia.

Social media companies must verify the age of users using official documents such as identity card, passport or any other government-issued ID.

Existing users will also have to complete their age verification within the next six months.

According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), as soon as these rules come into effect, people under the age of 16 will not be allowed to register for social media accounts.

Increased responsibilities of social media platforms

These new rules put more accountability on big technology companies like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

The platform must:

More strict action will have to be taken against harmful and wrong content.

The system of reporting and handling complaints needs to be improved.

You must verify the identity of those advertising on your platform.

Changed, tampered or misleading content must be clearly labeled.

Measures to protect minors from online abuse and exploitation need to be strengthened.

Companies that fail to comply with these new requirements may be fined up to 10 million Malaysian Ringgit.

The Malaysian government believes that these measures will help reduce online threats and create a safer digital space for young users.