KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Malaysia is on the right track in strengthening digital protection for children through stronger legal enforcement and greater public awareness, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Malaysia.
UNICEF Malaysia chief of child protection Saskia Blume said the country's approach is in line with those adopted by developed nations, including Australia, which has set a minimum age of 16 for social media accounts.
She said Malaysia is taking a broader approach to digital safety by focusing not only on restricting children's access to social media and other online platforms, but also on ensuring technology platforms are designed to protect young users.
"The responsibility of digital technology platforms goes far beyond simply preventing children from using them. I see Malaysia moving in this direction, just like Australia, where the focus is not solely on restricting access to social media.
"Malaysia is taking this issue seriously. For example, there is currently a proposal to introduce an online safety framework to assess whether a platform is safe for our children," she said.
Blume was speaking to Media Selangor after participating as a panellist in the dialogue session titled ‘Online Safety by Design: Platform Accountability and Child Protection in the Age of User Resilience’.
The session was held in conjunction with the International Regulators Conference (IRC) 2026 and was officiated by Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil on July 21.
Blume said participants at the dialogue agreed that online platforms should implement stronger default privacy settings to better protect underage users.
Having lived in Malaysia for the past four years, she said there is no single age limit that can fully shield children from the growing risks posed by social media.
"It's not only about protecting children on social media, but also about their overall experience when accessing social media, online games or artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
"It's about the design choices made by these applications. Do social media platforms allow adults to contact children? Do they have privacy settings that prevent users from viewing children's photos?
"These design choices are what matter most. It's not simply about whether the age limit is 14, 16 or 18. If we make platforms safer for children, they will be safer for everyone," she said.
Effective June 1, the government set the minimum age for opening and owning a social media account at 16 in an effort to curb harmful online influences, cyberbullying and other digital threats facing children.
The move followed Australia becoming the first country to enforce a nationwide ban on social media use for individuals under the age of 16, which took effect on December 10, 2025.
