KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia is beefing up efforts to regulate its fast-evolving digital landscape in the field of online safety, artificial intelligence (AI) governance and content development, Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, Fahmi said Malaysia has introduced a series of measures to strengthen online safety, especially for minors, and to ensure that large platforms are more accountable under domestic laws.
Since Jan. 1 last year, Malaysia has implemented a licensing regime for all social media platforms and internet messaging services with over 8 million users. From Jan. 1 this year, the Online Safety Act 2025 came into effect, and the government is now finalizing around 10 subsidiary instruments, including codes of conduct and regulatory procedures, to guide compliance.
Fahmi said Malaysia aims to introduce this mechanism by the end of the second quarter or the start of the third quarter of this year, tentatively in late June or early July, drawing a distinction between "age assurance," used in some other countries, and "age verification," which Malaysia intends to adopt.
"While age assurance relies heavily on self-declaration and platform-driven tools, Malaysia plans to leverage its long-established national identity card system. Every Malaysian, from birth, is issued an identity card that is, by law, carried at all times and already used in daily life for opening bank accounts, obtaining phone lines, and completing electronic know-your-customer processes," he said.
Fahmi also noted that Malaysia is exploring the introduction of a basic legal framework for AI, to be led by the Ministry of Digital. In the meantime, existing legislation, such as the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, will continue to be used to address AI-related abuses, including defamatory or explicit synthetic content. ■