Fahmi: Govt to roll out social media regulatory sandbox from Jan 1

PUTRAJAYA (Dec 27): The government will roll out a regulatory sandbox programme from Jan 1 to assess child protection mechanisms and ensure consumer safety in the digital space ahead of full-scale enforcement.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the initiative would involve the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and a number of identified social media platforms.

He added that the move would allow both the government and platform providers to assess existing technical capabilities and test regulatory mechanisms in a controlled environment.

A sandbox is a regulatory testing framework commonly used in the technology and digital sectors, enabling stakeholders to trial new approaches, mechanisms or technologies in a controlled environment prior to full implementation.

This process allows regulators to assess a policy’s effectiveness, risks and impact while giving the industry room to adjust technical and operational capabilities to comply with legal requirements.

“Our approach isn’t about simply giving orders. We invite all platforms into a space known in the technology world as a ‘sandbox’, so government objectives align with the platforms’ capabilities and tools,” he said in an interview with the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), led by its editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Duraj Raj.

According to Fahmi, the trial programme would run for several months to ensure that the measures put in place were effective and could not be easily manipulated, particularly to safeguard children from online risks.

Commenting on Australia’s decision to ban social media use for children under 16, Fahmi said Malaysia had no plans to adopt the same approach and opted instead for a method better suited to the local context.

He said Malaysia preferred the platform-proposed age verification mechanism over Australia’s age assurance approach, as it was easier to implement and enforce while ensuring user privacy was protected.

“I received a letter from the Facebook Regional Director, and in that letter he stated very openly and officially that Facebook is prepared to help with user verification using government-issued documents.

“So the idea didn’t come from me; it actually came from Facebook…so I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Raphael Frankel for giving this idea to me. We will likely take that path,” he said.

Fahmi also said the sandbox implementation provided both the government and the platform with time and space to evaluate the mechanism’s effectiveness and address any weaknesses before it is rolled out to the public.

“If one approach is not feasible, we will look at other options. The important thing is that, when implemented, any issues that arise can be better managed,” he said.

Fahmi stressed that while Malaysia is learning from the experiences of other countries, including Australia and Denmark, its policy and implementation would be tailored to suit the local context. – Bernama

Fahmi Fadzil Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission regulatory sandbox social media platforms