{"id":126819,"date":"2026-06-01T19:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=126819"},"modified":"2026-06-01T19:24:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:24:17","slug":"malaysia-bars-under-16s-from-signing-up-for-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web desk(National Times)- Malaysia has begun barring those aged under 16 from registering accounts on social media platforms, its communications regulator said on Monday, as it boosts efforts to protect minors from exposure to harmful content online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Southeast Asian nation joins a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1960333\">growing number of countries<\/a>&nbsp;introducing measures to regulate access to online platforms, amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children\u2019s health and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starting Monday, social media platforms, including Meta Platforms\u2019 Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, and Alphabet\u2019s YouTube, must conduct age verification against government-issued records, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fines up to 10 million ringgit ($2.5 million) may be levied against social media platforms that fail to comply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe measure is not intended to prohibit child users from the internet or to deny them access to technology,\u201d it said, rather it aims to boost responsibility among social media platforms, parents and guardians in protecting minors online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Age verification for existing users will be implemented by social media platforms over a six month-period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Malaysia has stepped up scrutiny of social media companies after finding a sharp rise in harmful online content in recent years, and is cracking down on material that deliberately tries to stir racial or religious tensions, or criticises the monarchy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Web desk(National Times)- Malaysia has begun barring those aged under 16 from registering accounts on social media platforms, its communications regulator said on Monday, as it boosts efforts to protect minors from exposure to harmful content online. The Southeast Asian nation joins a&nbsp;growing number of countries&nbsp;introducing measures to regulate access to online platforms, amid mounting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web desk(National Times)- Malaysia has begun barring those aged under 16 from registering accounts on social media platforms, its communications regulator said on Monday, as it boosts efforts to protect minors from exposure to harmful content online. The Southeast Asian nation joins a&nbsp;growing number of countries&nbsp;introducing measures to regulate access to online platforms, amid mounting [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-01T14:24:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-01T14:24:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/\",\"name\":\"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media - Nation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-01T14:24:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-01T14:24:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png\",\"width\":670,\"height\":370},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"Nation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16\",\"name\":\"humza Jahangir\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"humza Jahangir\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media - Nation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media - Nation","og_description":"Web desk(National Times)- Malaysia has begun barring those aged under 16 from registering accounts on social media platforms, its communications regulator said on Monday, as it boosts efforts to protect minors from exposure to harmful content online. The Southeast Asian nation joins a&nbsp;growing number of countries&nbsp;introducing measures to regulate access to online platforms, amid mounting [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/","og_site_name":"Nation","article_published_time":"2026-06-01T14:24:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-01T14:24:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":670,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"humza Jahangir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"humza Jahangir","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/","name":"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media - Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png","datePublished":"2026-06-01T14:24:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-01T14:24:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-8.png","width":670,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/126819\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Malaysia bars under-16s from signing up for social media"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/","name":"Nation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16","name":"humza Jahangir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"humza Jahangir"},"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126821,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126819\/revisions\/126821"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}