THE Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has signalled a major push to enhance online safety for children, in line with the forthcoming Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA 2025).
The regulator acknowledged the findings of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on online child protection, emphasising that safeguarding minors is now a central priority.
Under ONSA 2025, platforms are now required to manage risks associated with harmful content, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), explicit sexual material, indecent content, and self-harm related media.
MCMC has intensified monitoring and content takedown requests to licensed service providers, achieving a 94 per cent compliance rate from 957 identified cases of harmful content between 1 January 2024 and 30 November 2025, with platforms such as Tumblr, TikTok, and Facebook among the most responsive.
Enforcement operations in collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) have also expanded.
Op Pedo 1.0 in December 2024 led to 13 arrests and the seizure of over 40,000 exploitative files.
Success escalated with Op Pedo 2.0, conducted from 22 to 30 September 2025, which saw 31 individuals apprehended across 37 locations, including teachers and foreign nationals, with approximately 880,000 files seized, nearly twenty times more than the previous operation.
The regulator is also prioritising public education, implementing the Internet Safe Campaign (Kempen Internet Selamat) in 8,454 educational institutions nationwide, targeting students, parents, educators, and the wider community.
Preparations for ONSA 2025 include enforcing a minimum age of 16 for social media registration in 2026, alongside KIS 2.0, which will further enhance digital safety literacy for parents.
MCMC stressed its ongoing commitment to protecting children online through rigorous regulation, integrated enforcement, and continuous public education. - December 3, 2025
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