Social media platforms that fail to comply with user age verification requirements under the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866) could face financial penalties of up to RM10 million, the Dewan Rakyat was told on Wednesday.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has the authority to issue notices of non-compliance to application service providers that fail to meet obligations under Part III of Act 866.
He said licensed service providers that receive such notices must either pay the financial penalty imposed or submit representations to MCMC for a review of the decision.
“For non-compliance involving Part III of Act 866, licensed service providers may be subjected to financial penalties of up to RM10 million as provided under Section 39 of the Act,” he said during the ministerial question-and-answer session.
Fahmi was responding to a supplementary question from Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan regarding measures to ensure social media companies comply with age verification requirements and the penalties they could face if they fail to do so.
He stressed that MCMC possesses enforcement powers under the legislation and can take action against licensed service providers that do not comply with the requirements.
The minister added that Section 30 of Act 866 also empowers MCMC to issue written directives requiring service providers to comply with provisions under the law.
Failure to obey such directives constitutes an offence and, upon conviction, offenders may be fined up to RM1 million, with an additional penalty of up to RM100,000 for every day the offence continues after conviction.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said the government has been engaging social media companies since January through a regulatory sandbox initiative aimed at discussing age verification mechanisms.
He revealed that more than 30 engagement sessions have been conducted, either collectively or individually, with the affected platforms. According to him, while each platform faces different operational challenges and business objectives, Malaysia’s age verification requirement is consistent with measures already implemented in more than 25 countries worldwide.
