THE new regulatory framework recently announced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is expected to stop children under the age of 13 from opening their own social media accounts.
Communications Minister, Fahmi Fadzil, said it was because sex offenders now often hide behind fake accounts to approach minors on social media.
He said currently social media platform providers do not seem too serious in preventing children under the age of 13 from opening accounts, thus inviting danger and threats from various parties.
"So with the licensing that will come into effect next year, we hope to curb children under the age of 13 from having social media accounts.
"We do not want criminals to misuse these platforms to commit sexual crimes against children. We must put an end to all paedophilia criminals," he said after officiating the Kembara Merdeka Jalur Gemilang 2024 convoy for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, here.
Fahmi also said that parents have a role in regulating children's activities so that they do not have social media access and share personal details widely online.
Fahmi added that they will begin engaging with all social media platform stakeholders to build or create draft guidelines before the licensing process takes place.
Earlier, the MCMC informed all social media and internet messaging services that currently have at least eight million registered users in the country that they need to apply for an annual licence under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. - The Vibes, August 10, 2024
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