All social media platforms operating in Malaysia have been urged to implement electronic Know-Your-Customer (eKYC) verification using government-issued identification, including MyKad, passports, or MyDigital ID, to strengthen online safety.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the eKYC system will ensure that user identities are fully verified, helping to curb online fraud and prevent children under 13 from creating social media accounts.
“For now, we are encouraging platforms to adopt eKYC, but once the Online Safety Act takes effect later this year or early next year, it will be mandatory,” he explained. “Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, and TikTok still lack a truly robust eKYC system, so we have asked them to implement verification using official government-issued documents.”
Fahmi made the remarks during the Communications Ministry’s monthly assembly, attended by Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching, Secretary-General Datuk Seri Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, and Malaysian National News Agency CEO Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
He emphasized that the government is committed to protecting Malaysians from online crimes, including investment scams, gambling, and the sale of prohibited goods.
The ministry, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), will coordinate a meeting within the next two weeks between Meta and TikTok in Singapore, alongside the Royal Malaysia Police, Attorney General’s Chambers, National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, and Ministry of Finance.
Key discussion points will include the sale of banned items, such as drug-laced vape liquids on Meta platforms like Facebook, and the proper implementation of eKYC verification using official government identification.
