Malaysia to Ban Social Media for Children Under 16 Starting in 2026

Malaysia said on November 24 that it will prohibit social media use by children under 16 starting in 2026, part of an effort the government described as aimed at protecting young people from online harms including cyberbullying, scams and sexual exploitation. The announcement was made at the close of G20 related meetings and the communications ministry said authorities were studying age verification mechanisms used in other countries, including Australia, and would seek cooperation from social media platforms.

The policy marks a significant intervention by a Southeast Asian government into the digital lives of minors, reflecting rising global concern about the relationship between social media and youth mental health. Governments and child welfare advocates have pushed for stricter limits in recent years as studies and high profile cases have highlighted risks associated with early, unsupervised social networking. The Malaysian announcement does not yet provide detailed enforcement rules or a timeline beyond the 2026 start date.

Implementing a ban of this scale confronts a number of technical and legal challenges. Age verification systems being considered in other jurisdictions range from digital identity checks linked to government databases to third party verification services and account level attestations by parents or guardians. Each approach carries trade offs. Digital identity checks can strengthen certainty about users, but they raise privacy and data protection concerns and require robust safeguards against misuse. Simpler attestations can be easier to adopt but are easier for determined users to circumvent.

Platform cooperation will be central to the policy's feasibility. Major social media companies control the account creation flows, data collection systems and age gating tools that would make enforcement possible at scale. Securing that cooperation may require regulatory incentives, penalties or new legal requirements, all of which are politically sensitive and could trigger legal challenges over free expression and cross border data governance.

Experts warn that enforcement alone will not eliminate harm. Prohibiting access for children under 16 could reduce exposure to unsafe content, but it may also push young people toward encrypted chat services, private messaging groups or virtual private networks that are harder to monitor. The measure could shift risk rather than remove it, creating enforcement burdens for parents and schools.

The government framed the policy as protective, but it will also prompt debates about parental responsibility, digital literacy and how societies balance safety with the benefits of online participation. Advocates for children have emphasized complementary investments in education on online safety, mental health resources and support for families as part of any restriction on access.

Malaysia’s announcement places the country among a growing list of governments experimenting with age based limits on social media. Details about legal instruments, penalties for non compliance and technical specifications for age verification were not released in the initial statements. As the policy moves from intention to regulation, policymakers will face the task of designing safeguards that protect privacy, preserve legitimate user rights, and reduce harm while remaining technically enforceable.