PUTRAJAYA: The government is proposing to tighten age restrictions on social media, with plans to raise the minimum user age from 13 to 16, says Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister said the matter is set to be discussed with tech giants in Singapore next week, amid growing concern over online safety following the fatal school stabbing of a 16-year-old student in Selangor.
“The Cabinet discussed a proposal to raise the age limit to 16 years old. This is also done in several countries such as Australia and Indonesia.
“Age limits will be enforced by registration through official documents such as MyKad, passports and MyDigital ID.
“This will be further discussed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with social media platform companies in Singapore next week,” Fahmi said in his weekly press conference here yesterday.
On Oct 15, Fahmi said Malaysia will soon require all social media platforms to implement “electronic know your customer” (eKYC) identity verification to ensure users under 13 do not own accounts.
Fahmi said technical aspects of the age limit mechanism will be discussed by the Malaysian delegation with social media platform operators in the meeting next week.
He added that the Malaysian delegation will comprise officials from the Finance Ministry, the National Anti Financial Crime Centre and MCMC, among others.
Fahmi also said the Education Ministry will issue a new guideline next week for schools to carry out random spot checks at any time of the week on students.
He also said there is a proposal for the police to have a stronger presence in schools.
“A full statement will be issued by the Home Ministry shortly. This is to ensure the presence of police in schools will send a signal that schools are a safe place,” he said.
Fahmi said the Cabinet also discussed a special task force that will conduct a study to identify issues faced by schools nationwide.
“A report will be prepared as soon as possible to be tabled before the Cabinet for further action,” he added.
There have been increased calls for more regulations on social media consumption among teenagers following the stabbing of a 16-year-old student by a 14-year-old schoolmate in Bandar Utama that shocked the nation on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said he has ordered MCMC to take action on e-commerce sites selling illegal items such as counterfeit products, weapons and drugs.
“If e-commerce platforms do not cooperate adequately, further action will be taken against them to ensure they abide by our laws,” he said, adding it will fall under the MCMC Act or the Online Safety Act.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Shazeli Kahar said on Oct 15 that the 14-year-old suspect in the stabbing incident had purchased his weapons online.
Shazeli said investigations are ongoing to determine which platform the suspect used to buy the knives.
The 16-year-old girl died on Oct 14 after suffering multiple stabs to the chest and neck.