Social Media At 16: Protection or Digital Necessity?

These platforms have become their preferred spaces for play and entertainment, learning, information-seeking and social interaction. It is not an exaggeration to say that many of them are “growing up” faster in the virtual world than in real life.

Children as young as four, for instance, are already exposed to global narratives and able to express emotions by saying “poor” Palestine, describing Israel as “bad”, or even recognising who Donald Trump is — all learned through social media.

Yet behind the many benefits lies a dense web of risks that are not always visible to the naked eye.

The rise in cybercrime involving children — including online sexual harassment, paedophilia, digital exploitation, cyberbullying, the spread of pornographic material and social media addiction — has become a growing concern. These are among the unintended consequences of unregulated social media use, carried out without adequate guidance, supervision or protection.

More worrying still, such exposure has been linked to serious criminal behaviour among school students, including rape and murder cases. As a result, the issue can no longer be viewed as the responsibility of parents alone, but instead demands a more comprehensive national protection framework and direct government intervention.

 

The government’s recent proposal to set a minimum age of 16 for social media use has drawn widespread public attention, prompting debate from multiple angles — responsibility, safety, present realities and the future of the younger generation.

On Dec 6, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil reiterated the need to enforce a minimum age limit of 16 for social media use, aimed at protecting children and adolescents from exploitation and exposure to inappropriate online content.

Australia has been cited as a benchmark, having begun enforcing a ban on social media use for children under 16 — described as the first of its kind globally — with the law coming fully into effect on Wednesday (Dec 10).

The move signals a major shift in global digital governance and sets a new benchmark for how governments worldwide may act to protect young users online.

According to previous reports, Malaysia is also targeting the implementation of digital user identity verification (eKYC) by all social media platforms by the end of the second quarter of 2026, to enforce the minimum age requirement for account registration.

Fahmi said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has been instructed to engage with all social media platforms and provide them with a reasonable timeframe to implement the measure.

However, even as efforts are intensified to protect vulnerable groups, the proposal has also raised questions about children’s rights — particularly their right to communicate, access information and express themselves in a digital world that has become deeply embedded in their daily lives.

 

Commenting on the issue, Malaysian Cyber Consumer Association (MCCA) deputy president Ts Azrul Zafri Azmi said that in today’s borderless digital landscape, social media is no longer merely a form of entertainment, but a central space for social interaction, learning and identity formation, especially among young people.

That said, he noted, this convenience also opens the door to increasingly complex and difficult-to-control risks.

“MCCA continuously receives complaints from parents involving scams, cyberbullying and sexual exploitation affecting underage users.

“Children today are facing algorithms they do not understand. They can be contacted by unknown adults, emotionally manipulated, influenced by extremist content or targeted by cyber predators without even realising it,” he told Bernama recently.

Azrul Zafri said that although most social media platforms set a minimum age of 13 in line with international practice, enforcement remains extremely lax.

“Children can register accounts simply by changing their date of birth. Without stronger age verification, existing limits are merely symbolic and fail to provide real protection,” he explained.

While viewing the proposed minimum age of 16 as a progressive step reflecting the government’s seriousness in addressing child digital safety, he stressed that implementation must be realistic and not merely cosmetic.

Although supportive of regulatory efforts, he cautioned that age restrictions alone will not solve the root of the problem unless accompanied by comprehensive digital literacy education.

“We cannot just prohibit without educating. Children must be equipped with an understanding of online risks, how to protect themselves, recognise digital manipulation and use social media ethically and responsibly.

“Parents play a crucial role as the first line of defence in their children’s digital safety. Laws cannot replace parental supervision — if parents themselves lack digital literacy, any restriction can easily be bypassed,” he said.

He added that public awareness campaigns and continuous education are essential if the 16-year age limit is enforced, warning that without societal understanding, the policy risks becoming nothing more than a rule on paper, difficult to enforce.

 

Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Negeri Sembilan Branch Rembau Campus assistant rector and Faculty of Information Science lecturer Associate Prof Dr Masitah Ahmad said the proposed age limit should be addressed through a balanced approach that considers both protection and adolescents’ developmental needs.

She pointed out that numerous studies have shown that uncontrolled social media use can negatively affect adolescents’ mental health, leading to anxiety, emotional stress, sleep disorders and self-image or personality issues driven by constant social comparison.

“Teenagers under 16 are in a critical phase of identity and self-esteem development. Excessive exposure to public judgment, negative comments and popularity pressure can leave long-term psychological effects.

“However, overly restrictive measures also risk excluding adolescents from communication spaces that have become primary platforms for learning and social interaction.

“Social media is used for informal learning, discussions on current issues, youth activism and self-expression. If access is completely blocked, the government must consider equally viable alternatives,” she said.

She suggested phased regulatory approaches, including screen-time limits, age-appropriate content filtering and more effective parental control features, rather than a blanket ban.

“We are talking about a generation that has grown up entirely in a digital world. The focus should not be solely on restricting access, but on building their capacity to face risks with maturity and resilience,” she added.

 

Sharing his perspective, legal practitioner Muhammad Hafiz Hood said the implementation of a 16-year minimum age for social media use requires careful scrutiny to avoid legal complications, including issues related to child protection laws, privacy and data protection.

“The key question is how age verification will be implemented. If it involves collecting sensitive data such as identity card numbers or biometric information, there is concern over potential data breaches and misuse, given that these details would be part of the registration process,” he said.

According to Muhammad Hafiz, any age verification mechanism must comply with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, which emphasises transparency, purpose limitation and data security.

“We welcome the intention to protect children and adolescents, but at the same time we must ensure that this objective does not inadvertently open the door to data exploitation by third parties.

“There is also the issue of legal liability in cases of violations. If a child under 16 uses social media unlawfully, who is responsible — the parents, the platform, or the child as the user? This framework must be clearly defined,” he said.

He noted that the Federal Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, including for young people, although such freedom may be restricted on grounds of security, morality and public interest.

He stressed that any regulatory approach must carefully balance these considerations to avoid violations of fundamental rights, and should be preceded by public consultation and engagement with all relevant stakeholders before any policy is finalised.

“An effective approach requires balance — between protection, education, prudent enforcement and respect for fundamental rights and freedom.

“In a constantly evolving digital world, the real challenge is not merely keeping children away from social media, but preparing them to navigate it safely, ethically and responsibly,” he said.