Malaysia Presses TikTok for Stronger Age-Verification Measures

On September 4, the government of Malaysia called for TikTok to block users under 13 from accessing the platform by implementing stricter age-verification features, as reported by state news agency Bernama. The call came as the government is already at odds with TikTok over the spread of “harmful content.”

Two days earlier, on September 2, authorities summoned the company’s top management to discuss its alleged delays in tackling fake news on the platform.

“TikTok was very slow in providing information […] to the point that I had to call TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to inform him, ‘this is a crime that’s being committed and your organization is very slow’,” said the Malaysian minister of communications, Fahmi Fadzil, after the original announcement.

According to Fadzil, TikTok was later also instructed to work in tandem with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to tackle the issue of underage users accessing the app.

“I don’t see TikTok enforcing this prohibition aggressively. Their approach has been very weak, and the existing mechanism is ineffective,” Fadzil added.

The Malaysian government has stepped up its oversight of social media platforms since a new law was passed in January, which requires platforms with more than 8 million users to obtain a licence to operate in the country. Fadzil announced plans to summon representatives from other platforms, such as Meta and X, for similar discussions.

According to the government, there has also been a rise in harmful online content. In the country, harmful online content legally includes online gambling, scams, child pornography and grooming, cyberbullying, and content related to race, religion, and royalty.

“There needs to be a mechanism for age verification […] we leave it to TikTok as well as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the police to study this,” Fadzil said after meeting TikTok representatives at PDRM headquarters.

Many countries have adopted a direct legal approach to children’s online safety in recent years. Last year, Albania announced a year-long TikTok ban after a video allegedly led to the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old.