Malaysia bans social media accounts for children under 16 but questions remain
Jayaradha Veerasamy, right, and Saravanan Ganasan, second left, stand with their 12 years-old daughter Saaradha Saravanan, left, and their 15 year-old son Aadhavan Saravanan at a park in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Monday, June 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Eileen Ng)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia on Monday began enforcing rules barring millions of children younger than 16 from having social media accounts, joining a growing global effort to tighten safety protections. Not all families approved, and critics raised concerns about data protection and potential surveillance.
Social media platforms with at least 8 million users in Malaysia, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, must implement age-verification systems and block users under 16 from creating accounts.
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