Malaysia’s age verification rules for social media could be world’s strictest

Indonesia became the first Asian country to ban social media for under-16s, following Australia’s lead. Neighboring Malaysia is taking a keen interest as it’s taking its own path in regulating social media use for young people.

In the second half of 2026, Malaysia is implementing what has been dubbed a “digital seatbelt,” setting a minimum age of 16 for social media use. Since early 2025, social media platforms have had to obtain operating licenses in Malaysia, which was aimed at strengthening accountability for user safety.

“Restricting those under 16 from registering or maintaining social media accounts is like a ‘digital seatbelt,’ offering an added layer of protection for young users,” Mohd Khairie Ahmad, associate professor and dean of the School of Multimedia Technology and Communication at Universiti Utara Malaysia, told Bernama.

Ahmad believes identity verification technology could be adopted to enforce the policy and also integrated with the country’s MyDigital ID system, which includes control measures. ID scans, face biometrics and face matching would be combined with MyDigital ID’s capability for verifying accounts on social media platforms. This could translate into strong control and assurance, Ahmad said.

The Malaysian academic commended Indonesia’s social media ban for children but said his country could take an even stronger tack. “Malaysia’s age verification is expected to be stricter,” he said. Indonesia uses digital identity and AI-based age estimation, but Malaysia would use identity verification technology, at least initially, he suggested.

Mimos Bhd’s My Blockchain Infrastructure (MBI) formally endorsed Zetrix’s blockchain-based age verification method earlier this year. MBI runs Malaysia’s Blockchain Infrastructure initiative for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti). Overseen by the national research and development agency Mimos, and created in collaboration with Zetrix, it serves as the foundation for the MyDigital ID superapp that builds on the country’s existing digital ID system.

“Across the world, policymakers are looking for ways to better protect young users online and age verification must therefore be implemented responsibly,” MBI CEO Azhar Abu Talib said in a press release at the time.

“MBI is endorsing Zetrix’s age verification capability as a privacy-first, practical approach that helps platform operators meet safety and regulatory expectations while minimising unnecessary handling of personal data.”

Malaysia is also weighing a ban on smartphone use for children 16 and under. Officials are also known to be closely following events in Australia, after their social-media-ban implementation, for lessons that could be applied to their own rollout.

The Malaysian government and Meta have clashed over what the former perceived as a lack of effort to stop scams, curtail online gambling and the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Communications minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said Meta should be “much more proactive in combating group accounts on its social media platforms that engage in such sexual criminal activities.”

Meta disagreed with this assessment, saying that it had been working to improve preventing scams and prioritizing children’s wellbeing.

Article Topics

Australia  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  face biometrics  |  identity verification  |  Indonesia  |  Malaysia  |  national ID  |  regulation  |  social media