KULAI, Jan 26 — The implementation of a minimum age limit of 16 for social media use, aimed at protecting children and adolescents from exploitation and exposure to inappropriate online content, is expected to be enforced as early as July.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the initiative is currently in the regulatory sandbox phase, allowing the government to test and refine the most effective implementation methods before full enforcement.

She said the measure is being carried out in line with the Online Safety Act (OnSA), with discussions already underway with social media platform providers to determine the most suitable approach.

“Under OnSA, we have begun discussions with platform providers. We are now in the regulatory sandbox stage to identify the best, most effective and safest way to conduct age verification. At present, we are still in the discussion and planning phase with the platform providers.

“This is our target for this year. As was announced by Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil, we expect it to be implemented in the second half of the year,” she said when met after the handing over ceremony of the Early Schooling Assistance at Sekolah Kebangsaan Putra Utama here today.

The government is reportedly targeting all social media platforms to implement digital user identity verification (eKYC) by the end of the second quarter of 2026 to enforce the minimum age requirement for account registration.

Asked about cyberbullying involving national badminton player Toh Ee Wei, Teo said she had yet to receive confirmation from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on whether any complaints had been lodged regarding the matter.

Commenting on today’s programme, Teo said the MADANI Government, through the Ministry of Education, has allocated RM800 million for Early Schooling Assistance (BAP) this year, benefiting approximately 5.2 million students from Year One to Form Six nationwide.

Teo, who is the Kulai Member of Parliament, said 586,153 students received assistance, involving a total allocation of RM87.9 million in Johor.

“For the Kulai district alone, 58,264 students benefited, involving RM8.7 million,” she said. — Bernama