MCMC to meet Meta, Google, X and TikTok over eKYC age-verification for under-16s

It was only a week ago when Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the government is looking to implement age verification and identity checks for all users on social media. Looks like things are getting serious, as MCMC will convene meetings next week — in cooperation with other government agencies — with major social-media platform providers including Meta Platforms (Facebook/Instagram), Google LLC, X Corp (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.

The focus of these discussions: how to implement a reliable electronic Know-Your-Customer (eKYC) process that uses official documents (e.g., MyKad, passport, MyDigital ID) to verify user age — particularly to better protect users under age 16.

Why this Matters: Protecting Minors and Combating Abuse

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil emphasised that a major challenge in online safety is preventing misuse of fake or unverified accounts by predators, scammers or impersonators. The age-verification measure is viewed as key to strengthening protection for children and families.

Furthermore, the process will align with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) to ensure that user data is handled safely, minimising the risk of leaks or misuse.

Timeline and Scope of Implementation

The upcoming meetings are scheduled to take place in Singapore next week. While the focus is on verifying younger users, the broader initiative ties into Malaysia’s licensing and regulation of social-media platforms. As of early 2025, platforms with large user bases are required to obtain licensing under the online-safety regulatory framework.

What’s Ahead: Enforcement, Cooperation and Regulation

The government is preparing to finalise mechanisms for age verification. The meeting with the major platforms is a critical step in aligning technical, legal and regulatory approaches. For platforms, implications include:

• Implementing verification of identity documents for age-sensitive users
• Integrating verification flows into onboarding or account-creation processes
• Ensuring data privacy compliance under PDPA and other relevant regulations
• Potentially modifying terms of service and age-restriction enforcement protocols

Takeaway for Users and Platforms

For users, especially younger ones and their families, this initiative signals that the government is actively working to improve safety online by tightening identity and age verification standards. For platforms, this means that Malaysia is moving toward stronger regulatory oversight of social-media user-verification practices — platforms may need to update their verification workflows, data-handling policies and compliance mechanisms.

In other news, Australia will enforce new legislation in the country, banning the use of social media for those under the age of 16. This will have an impact on various services, including Meta and TikTok, effective on 10 December 2025. You can read about the news here, and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.