Malaysia enforces ban on social media accounts for children younger than 16

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Monday began enforcing rules barring millions of children younger than 16 from owning social media accounts, joining a global effort to tighten online safety protections for young users.

The rules require social media platforms to implement age-verification systems and block users under 16 from creating accounts. They apply to platforms with at least 8 million users, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.