AI and the relentless subscription to social media pose many new challenges to ordinary people, not just in Malaysia but around the world.
The government deserves credit for introducing laws to safeguard the young from AI manipulation and social media abuse.
New laws, new duties
The Online Safety Act 2025 came into force on 1 January. This landmark law gives the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) sweeping powers to enforce safety standards on digital services.
This law aims to protect children from AI-generated child sexual abuse material, deepfakes, online grooming and voice cloning.
It also shifts responsibility from parents as watchdogs to digital platforms, which must have strict built-in accountability features.
The Child Protection Code and the Risk Mitigation Code came into force on 1 June. They require platforms to build in ‘child-by-design’ safeguards.
Platforms must also label AI-generated synthetic media, such as deepfakes, so young users and parents can spot manipulative or misleading content. Those that do not comply face fines of up to RM10m.
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There are also mandatory age-verification checks to stop children under 16 from registering for social media or high-risk content accounts.
The Cybercrimes Bill 2026, passed in July, targets synthetic and AI-generated threats to children.
Section 23 criminalises the use of deepfake technology to produce and spread harmful, malicious material.
Section 24 outlaws the sharing of non-consensual intimate images. This extends protection to minors from AI that digitally alters school photos and similar images.
The government has also set out seven key principles for responsible AI, focusing on reliability, safety, control, privacy and data security. These help protect children from AI tools that track data and use biased algorithms.
The aim is a transparent, ethical system that acts as a shield for our most vulnerable – our children.
Awareness must follow
Other initiatives due in the months ahead include national digital literacy programmes. These aim to build resilience in children rather than rely on bans.
The laws will need strong public awareness campaigns. They must reach not only consumers but also the AI back-end developers and social media programmers.
Other ministries, including education and trade and economics, will need to work with the MCMC. Each should run campaigns covering the parts of the laws that apply to them.
Only then can we hope for the vigilance needed to make these laws work.
The video above, in which a mother describes how she lost her teenage son to the dangers of AI and social media, should send shivers down the spine.
It is also a timely reminder to governments, leaders, parents, teachers and anyone else who helps protect the digital lives of children.
However, given Malaysia’s track record of enthusiastic, knee-jerk reactions to new ideas that are quickly forgotten, there is much to worry about.
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
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