PUTRAJAYA, March 29 — Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has today urged parents to keep their children who are not yet 13 away from social media such as TikTok.
He said the Communications Ministry is also planning a tour in collaboration with the Education Ministry to spread awareness on the dangers of underage and unsupervised use of social media.
“I ask for parents’ cooperation to always be aware, and make sure children below 13 years old do not use TikTok,” he said here.
Fahmi also said that the ministries’ tour will require cooperation with parents-teachers’ associations and other parties to ensure its goal is achieved.
He said all social media platforms have an age limit, however it is concerning that this is being deliberately breached by children here.
"Not just TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, even WhatsApp also has an age limit,” the minister said.
He said some content found online can be damaging to children and it is concerning that algorithms are shaping children's minds.
"Influencers sometimes give their opinions but children still don't understand what they are trying to say," Fahmi asserted, referring to sarcasm and parodies.
For the time being, the government spokesman also said that his ministry is working out what steps it cantake to curb children under 13 years old from using social media.
