Fahmi calls for stronger Asean cooperation on child online safety

Malaysia's Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil urged ASEAN countries to collaborate on protecting children from online threats, despite differing laws and internet safety approaches.

Malaysia began enforcing age-verification for social media accounts on June 1, preventing those under 16 from creating accounts, as part of the Online Safety Act 2025.

Fahmi emphasised the challenges of understanding social media algorithms and highlighted a recent Malaysian case involving apprehended paedophiles to illustrate the online dangers children face.

BALI, Oct 20 — Asean countries must work together to protect children from growing online threats despite differences in their laws and approaches to internet safety, said Malaysia’s Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil.

He said countries in the region shared the challenge of keeping the internet safe for children and needed to strengthen cooperation to address these threats.

“The internet is good. The internet can be put to good use. But do children know how to use it well?” he said in his keynote address at Bali Tech Week 2026, initiated by Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital today.

Fahmi said Malaysia wanted to ensure that children below the age of 16 were unable to open social media accounts, although approaches to online safety for children could differ between Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and other Asean countries.

Malaysia began enforcing age-verification requirements for social media account registration on June 1 this year under the Child Protection Code and Risk Mitigation Code introduced under the Online Safety Act 2025.

Under the new regulations, individuals under the age of 16 are no longer allowed to open any social media accounts, while those who wish to register must submit official identification documents such as MyKad, passport or MyDigital ID to verify their age.

Fahmi also highlighted the challenges posed by social media algorithms, noting that governments had limited understanding of how they operated and influenced the content users encountered.

At the forum, Fahmi outlined Malaysia’s efforts to improve internet coverage, speed and affordability while making online access safer, particularly for children.

Highlighting the dangers children faced online, he cited a recent case in which Malaysian police apprehended 53 suspected paedophiles and seized more than half a million files suspected of containing child sexual abuse material.

He described online child protection as a challenge faced by countries across the region.

Fahmi also said that governments needed to consider how they shaped people’s choices while ensuring individuals had the freedom to make more informed decisions.

Bali Tech Week, themed “Archipelago Ascending: Advance Together, Innovate Further”, is being held from Oct 19 to 23 at the Bali Beach Convention Centre in Sanur, bringing together policymakers, technology leaders, innovators and investors.

Fahmi was invited by his Indonesian counterpart, Meutya Hafid, to deliver the keynote address at the event during his working visit to Indonesia from Monday to Thursday.

He will travel to Jakarta later Tuesday to continue his official engagements. — Bernama

Muhyiddin saddened by Perikatan deregistration, warns against abuse of power in coalitions

Selangor Sultan cautions royal family members against exploiting royal status

Anwar backs efforts to strengthen IsDB Centre of Excellence in Kuala Lumpur

尽管法律和网络安全措施各不相同，马来西亚通讯部长拿督斯里法米·法兹尔仍敦促东盟各国合作保护儿童免受网络威胁。

马来西亚于 6 月 1 日开始强制执行社交媒体账户的年龄验证，禁止 16 岁以下的人创建账户，这是 2025 年《网络安全法》的一部分。

法米强调了理解社交媒体算法的挑战，并重点介绍了最近马来西亚一起涉及被捕恋童癖者的案件，以说明儿童面临的网络危险。

巴厘岛，10 月 20 日——马来西亚通信部长拿督斯里法米·法兹尔表示，尽管东盟各国在法律和网络安全方法上存在差异，但各国必须共同努力保护儿童免受日益增长的网络威胁。

他表示，该地区各国都面临着保障儿童上网安全的挑战，需要加强合作以应对这些威胁。

“互联网是好的，互联网可以被好好利用。但是孩子们知道如何好好利用它吗？”他在今天由印尼通信和数字部发起的2026年巴厘岛科技周的主题演讲中说道。

法米表示，马来西亚希望确保16岁以下的儿童无法开设社交媒体账户，尽管马来西亚、印度尼西亚、新加坡和其他东盟国家在儿童网络安全方面的做法可能有所不同。

马来西亚于今年 6 月 1 日开始根据 2025 年《网络安全法》引入的《儿童保护法》和《风险缓解法》对社交媒体账户注册进行年龄验证。

根据新规，16 岁以下人士不得开设任何社交媒体账户，而希望注册者必须提交官方身份证明文件，例如身份证、护照或数字身份证，以验证其年龄。

法赫米还强调了社交媒体算法带来的挑战，指出各国政府对算法的运作方式以及算法如何影响用户接触到的内容了解有限。

在论坛上，法米概述了马来西亚为改善互联网覆盖范围、速度和价格，同时使在线访问更安全（特别是对儿童而言）所做的努力。

他强调了儿童在网络上面临的危险，并引用了最近的一个案例：马来西亚警方逮捕了 53 名涉嫌恋童癖者，并查获了超过 50 万份涉嫌包含儿童性虐待材料的文件。

他将网络儿童保护描述为该地区各国面临的挑战。

法赫米还表示，政府需要考虑如何塑造人们的选择，同时确保个人有自由做出更明智的决定。

以“群岛崛起：携手共进，创新不止”为主题的巴厘岛科技周将于10月19日至23日在沙努尔的巴厘岛海滩会议中心举行，届时将汇聚政策制定者、科技领袖、创新者和投资者。

法赫米应印尼外长穆蒂亚·哈菲德的邀请，于周一至周四对印尼进行工作访问期间，在本次活动上发表主旨演讲。

他将于周二晚些时候前往雅加达继续履行公务。——马新社

穆希丁对国民联盟被注销登记表示遗憾，并警告联合政府中不得滥用权力。

雪兰莪苏丹告诫王室成员不要滥用王室地位

安华支持加强伊斯兰开发银行吉隆坡卓越中心的努力