Government strengthens enforcement of social media age limits - VPN among the biggest challenge

The Malaysian government, via the MCMC, is cracking down on the use of VPNs and third-party identities used to bypass social media age restrictions. According to Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, the police (PDRM) will utilise public information during investigations to detect the misuse of such technology and use it as evidence to prove wrongdoing under the law.

It is MCMC’s responsibility to deal with these issues properly

According to Shamsul Anuar, among the main challenges faced are technological developments, data storage by telecommunications companies, and the location of platforms and servers located abroad. For foreign platform providers, he said enforcement of compliance with user screening and child protection requirements falls under the jurisdiction of MCMC based on the existing legal framework. Failure to comply with the authorities' instructions could lead to actions such as compliance orders, access restrictions to services or content, and legal action.

"However, if it is used to facilitate the commission of crimes such as child fraud, online fraud, dissemination of pornographic material or other offences, action will be taken in accordance with the law including the Penal Code, the Computer Crimes Act 1997 (Act 563) and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588)," he said during a question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat. He said this in the Dewan Rakyat when explaining the government's steps to ensure that the implementation of the age limit for social media users can be effectively enforced.

At the same time, the government is also collaborating with Interpol and ASEANPOL to strengthen efforts to tackle cross-border cybercrime. In a related development, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the government is also completing the regulatory framework under the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866).

According to him, MCMC is currently holding a public consultation to develop the Online Safety (Other Characteristics of Private Messaging Features) Regulations to clarify the obligations of digital platforms in dealing with harmful content. The public consultation began on 19 June and is scheduled to end on 20 July before the regulations are finalised.

Personally, we feel this is a step in the right direction for the country. After all, it won’t be effective for the social media ban to have age restrictions if the kids can bypass it easily. What are your thoughts on the news? Feel free to leave your comments below. Stay tuned for more news like this at TechNave.com