(Kuala Lumpur, 24th) As the government is set to implement a ban on social media use for children under 16, a legal practitioner believes that merely setting age restrictions for social media users is insufficient to protect children. Effective identity verification mechanisms, parental supervision, and stricter accountability for digital platform providers are also required.
Lawyer Zulaikha told Bernama that Malaysia's current legal framework regarding digital platform accountability is still developing and has yet to reach the level of completeness found in the EU and Australia.
In this regard, she put forward several recommendations for improvement, including imposing stricter legal responsibilities on social media platforms and accelerating mechanisms for removing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
She also suggested requiring platform providers to carry out mandatory reporting and impose heavier penalties on organized cybercrime groups to ensure a safer digital space.
She pointed out that, in fact, Malaysia has a comprehensive legal framework to address this issue, including the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, as well as the Evidence Act 1950 related to digital forensics.
"However, judging by the recent 'Operation Cyber Guardian' seizure of up to 500,000 pieces of child sexual abuse material, the current main challenges lie in enforcement and digital forensics capabilities."
"This also involves cross-border cooperation and the speed at which digital platforms take action on harmful content."
Zulaikha said that ensuring the integrity of evidence and the proper preservation of the chain of custody at all times are the most critical aspects of modern cybercrime cases and are in accordance with the provisions of the Evidence Act 1950.
She added that these evidentiary elements include seizure and data extraction processes that comply with digital forensics procedures, the use of hashing technology to verify file authenticity, and validation of metadata by relevant experts.
Furthermore, Zulaikha considers the proposal to set the minimum age limit for opening a social media account at 16 a preventive measure with reasonable basis, aligning with the principle of responsibility to protect minors.
She said that, given the high exposure of children and adolescents to risks such as online crime, sextortion, and cyberbullying, it is necessary to implement this initiative.
Previously, the government decided to prohibit children under 16 from opening or owning social media accounts.
With the two new online safety regulatory codes launched by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission coming into force on June 1, social media platform users will be required to upload government-issued official documents for age verification.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said two days ago that, according to the Children's Protection Code (CPC) and the Risk Minimisation Code (RMC), acceptable documents include identity cards and passports, in order to restrict users under 16 years old from opening social media accounts.