Stop the ‘doomscrolling’: Fahmi says parents need to be digital traffic cops for their own kids

Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil emphasized the crucial role parents play in safeguarding their children from online threats, urging them to actively monitor their devices to prevent exposure to cyberbullying and sexual crimes.

He highlighted the introduction of the Online Safety Act 2025, which seeks to hold social media platforms accountable with potential fines for non-compliance in curbing malicious activities.

Fahmi also advocated for the use of parental controls to manage children's device usage and the verification of social media account identities using official documents to combat fake accounts.

Furthermore, he stressed the importance of immediate reporting to the National Scam Response Centre to swiftly mitigate the impact of online frauds.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Parents are reminded not to rely solely on platform providers to ensure their children’s digital safety, but to take a proactive role in monitoring their devices to protect them from cyber threats.

Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said monitoring children’s online activities was now essential to curbing the risks of sexual crimes and cyberbullying.

“We need to know what our children are viewing. Giving a child a mobile phone is much like giving them a car, many things can happen if they are not properly supervised,” he said when featured on Agenda Daily’s Agenda Malaysia podcast.

Fahmi said the concern was well-founded, citing the recent arrest of 53 individuals under Op Pedo 2 and the seizure of more than 54,000 files linked to online child predation.

To protect children from paedophiles and cyberbullying, he urged parents to make use of parental control features to limit device usage and block high-risk applications, while discouraging “doomscrolling” or excessive scrolling through social media content.

Meanwhile, Fahmi said social media platform providers could be fined up to RM10 million for each offence from early next year if they fail to comply with the Online Safety Act 2025.

He said the law was aimed at ensuring platform operators take responsibility for curbing fake accounts, online sexual offences and cyberbullying.

“When we have clear laws in place, platforms that do business and generate revenue from online activities in Malaysia must cooperate. We are giving them time, but I hope it will not come to the point where we have to impose fines,” he said.

On identity verification for social media accounts, Fahmi said every citizen has official documents, such as a MyKid, birth certificate or MyKad, which can be used to verify whether a social media user is aged 16 or above.

He said such verification was crucial amid the growing number of fake social media accounts, which could be exploited by criminals to deceive victims and facilitate fraud and illegal gambling.

“Nearly 90 per cent of the content that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has asked platforms to remove is linked to scams and online gambling,” he said.

To curb online scams targeting groups including retirees and civil servants, Fahmi urged victims to contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 within 15 to 30 minutes of the incident to enable the transaction to be blocked.

“We should treat a call to the NSRC at 997 in the same way as calling an ambulance, as it is an emergency situation. If the call is made within 15 to 30 minutes, insya-Allah, Bank Negara can block the funds from being withdrawn through mule accounts,” he said. — Bernama

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通讯部长拿督斯里法米·法兹尔强调了父母在保护孩子免受网络威胁方面发挥的关键作用，敦促他们积极监控孩子的设备，以防止孩子遭受网络欺凌和性犯罪。

他重点介绍了《2025 年网络安全法案》的推出，该法案旨在追究社交媒体平台的责任，对不遵守规定以遏制恶意活动的行为处以罚款。

法赫米还提倡使用家长控制功能来管理儿童的设备使用情况，并使用官方文件来验证社交媒体帐户身份，以打击虚假帐户。

此外，他还强调了立即向国家诈骗应对中心报告的重要性，以便迅速减轻网络诈骗的影响。

吉隆坡，10月24日讯——家长们被提醒，不要仅仅依赖平台提供商来确保孩子的数字安全，而应该积极主动地监控孩子的设备，以保护他们免受网络威胁。

通讯部长拿督斯里法米·法兹尔表示，监控儿童的在线活动对于遏制性犯罪和网络欺凌的风险至关重要。

“我们需要知道孩子们在看什么。给孩子一部手机就像给他们一辆车一样，如果没有适当的监管，可能会发生很多事情，”他在接受 Agenda Daily 的 Agenda Malaysia 播客采访时说道。

法赫米表示，这种担忧不无道理，他列举了最近在“恋童癖行动2”中逮捕的53人以及查获的54000多份与网络儿童性侵有关的文件。

为了保护儿童免受恋童癖和网络欺凌的侵害，他敦促家长利用家长控制功能来限制设备的使用时间并阻止高风险应用程序，同时劝阻“末日滚动”或过度浏览社交媒体内容。

与此同时，法米表示，如果社交媒体平台提供商不遵守 2025 年网络安全法，从明年年初开始，每项违规行为最高可被罚款 1000 万令吉。

他表示，该法律旨在确保平台运营商承担起遏制虚假账户、网络性犯罪和网络欺凌的责任。

他说：“既然法律已经明确，那么在马来西亚开展业务并通过网络活动盈利的平台就必须配合。我们正在给他们时间，但我希望最终不会走到不得不处以罚款的地步。”

关于社交媒体账户的身份验证，法赫米表示，每个公民都有官方文件，例如 MyKid、出生证明或 MyKad，这些文件可以用来验证社交媒体用户是否年满 16 岁。

他表示，在虚假社交媒体账户数量不断增加的情况下，这种核实至关重要，因为犯罪分子可能会利用这些账户欺骗受害者，并助长欺诈和非法赌博活动。

他说：“马来西亚通讯及多媒体委员会（MCMC）要求各平台删除的内容中，近90%都与诈骗和网络赌博有关。”

为了遏制针对退休人员和公务员等群体的网络诈骗，法赫米敦促受害者在事件发生后 15 至 30 分钟内拨打 997 联系国家诈骗应对中心 (NSRC)，以便阻止交易。

“我们应该把拨打997国家安全监管委员会（NSRC）的电话视为紧急情况，因为这是紧急情况。如果在15到30分钟内拨打电话，如果真主保佑，国家银行可以阻止资金通过洗钱账户被提取，”他说。——马新社

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