KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Malaysian government is expected to finalize its age verification mechanism to bar those under 16 years old from accessing social media, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said on Wednesday.
The mechanism is part of ongoing efforts to protect children and teenagers from harmful online content, Teo told the country's parliament.
She said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is currently assessing the implementation of age and identity verification mechanisms, taking into account the aspects of account security, personal data protection, privacy and compatibility with the existing legal framework.
The MCMC is also conducting a regulatory sandbox process with social media platform providers to evaluate suitable technological approaches, she said, adding that following the process, the obligation to ensure users aged 16 and below do not operate social media accounts will rest fully with platform providers and non-compliance could result in financial penalties of up to 10 million ringgit (about 2.58 million U.S. dollars). ■