Comms Minister Fahmi Fadzil said late last year that the government will be implementing its social media ban for under-16s sometime this year. Then in January, the minister hinted at it happening by the middle of the year, noting that the government would have had the cooperation of all social media platforms by then. Now, it looks like the date for its enforcement starts broadly on 1 June.
Well, sort of. In a statement, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said that it has published two codes, the Child Protection Code (CPC) and Risk Mitigation Code (RMC), under the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA). A bit more specifically, the former is the one which governs the social media restrictions for under-16s. And the commission says that both of these take effect starting 1 June.
TL;DR – CPC = Safeguarding Under-16s
That being said, in the prepared FAQ for the code, the commission also says that there will be a grace period afforded to affected platforms. This is “to allow reasonable time to implement and complete the verification process on child users below the age of 16”. The FAQ itself does not mention what duration of this grace period, but that “licensed social media service providers will be informed of the relevant timelines and requirements in relation to the verification process”.
On the flip side, RMC requires that online service providers identify, assess and reduce risk of harmful content for all users. Platforms will need to consider their user demographics in the country, and the way service design, features or functionality can contribute exposure to harmful content, online behaviour trends that could contribute to that, and other characteristics, as decided by the MCMC.
The RMC also requires that licensed service providers “establish systems, mechanisms and procedures for timely identification, assessment and removal of harmful content”. This includes making sure that ads only come from verified organisations, businesses, or individuals. Deepfakes must also be clearly labelled as such, though this one may prove to be a challenge.
RMC = General Safety
Beyond that, the RMC also requires platforms to give users tools and settings to manage their own online safety. This means letting them implement filters to their search results and what is recommended to them, as well as general engagements and interactions.
Of course, with new rules comes the punishment if they’re not followed. In both FAQs, the MCMC mentions a fine of up to RM10 million for the failure to comply with the requirements of both the CMC and RMC.
(Source: MCMC [1], [2, PDF], [3, PDF])
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