All licensed social media platforms must submit their Online Safety Plans to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) by Dec 28 to ensure a safer digital environment for users.
Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the plans must detail measures and improvements that platforms intend to introduce to strengthen user safety, in accordance with the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866).
“These licensed platforms must submit an online safety plan to MCMC on or before Dec 28. This is an obligation under the online safety plan regulations.
“They must outline their plans to improve safety measures and ensure their platforms are safe for users,” she said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday.
She was responding to a supplementary question from Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang), who asked how the government would monitor the implementation of age verification when the ministry had yet to receive data on the number of accounts verified or blocked.
Nie Ching explained that the government was still in the transition period for implementing age verification mechanisms for social media users, with platforms expected to fulfil their obligations by early January next year.
“We are still in the transition period, and we expect platforms to implement these obligations by early January next year.
“Therefore, all data on how many accounts they have verified and closed will be submitted to us after the transition period,” she said.
She warned that licensed platform providers failing to comply with the requirements could face fines of up to RM1 million upon conviction, with an additional penalty of up to RM100,000 per day for continuing offences after conviction.
MCMC may also issue a notice of non-compliance under Section 37 of Act 866 and impose financial penalties of up to RM10 million under Section 39 for failure to fulfil relevant obligations under the Act.
Nie Ching said MCMC had also enforced the Child Protection Code (CPC) and Risk Mitigation Code (RMC) from June 1 to protect children from online risks and harmful content.
Following the enforcement, she said MCMC had directed Meta, TikTok and Google to implement age verification mechanisms and provide relevant information to facilitate compliance monitoring and assessment.
The commission is also continuing its monitoring efforts and engagement sessions with platform providers throughout the transition period to ensure the age verification mechanisms are implemented effectively.
On the threats posed by fake accounts and hate speech, Nie Ching clarified that the age verification mechanism for social media users aged 16 and above did not involve verifying the identity of their accounts.
As such, she said the mechanism would not directly address the problem of fake accounts, which required further examination and discussions on appropriate measures.
