KUCHING, May 22 — Users of social media platforms will need to upload official government-issued documents for age verification following the implementation of two new codes under the Online Safety Act (ONSA) introduced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), effective June 1.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said under the two codes, namely the Children’s Protection Code (CPC) and the Risk Mitigation Code (RMC), documents that may be used include identity cards and passports. This is to prevent users under the age of 16 from opening social media accounts.
“We have now asked platforms to implement age verification. Users need to verify their age using government-issued documents such as identity cards, passports or other official documents.
“If it is merely self-declared, anyone can simply click and claim they are above 18 years old,” she told reporters after officiating the Safe Internet Campaign Community Carnival here today.
Teo said MCMC, however, has not prescribed any specific technology that platforms must use for the age verification process.
She said the government will provide a reasonable period for social media platforms to implement the age verification process for existing accounts before enforcement action is taken.
“For existing accounts that have yet to complete age verification, MCMC is still discussing a reasonable timeframe after engaging with the involved social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
“Those who fail to complete verification may have their accounts closed, or the social media platforms may need to use artificial intelligence to ensure users are aged 16 and above."
Teo said the government had previously decided that children under the age of 16 were not allowed to open or own social media accounts on platforms with more than eight million users in Malaysia.
She said the two codes were published following engagement sessions with industry players, civil society organisations and stakeholders conducted since the beginning of this year.
Earlier in her speech, Teo said that from January to April this year alone, a total of 23,367 online scam cases were reported involving losses amounting to RM680.3 million.
She said that since the Safe Internet Campaign was launched in January 2025 until April 30 this year, more than 11,000 programmes were carried out nationwide involving over 1.8 million participants comprising school students, youths, parents, educators, senior citizens and local communities.
