Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said his ministry is assessing the need to license at least 10 online games, including Roblox, which he said is unsuitable for children under the age of 16.
“We will determine the most appropriate and effective regulatory framework. Give us some time before an official announcement is made, but what’s certain is that we cannot afford to remain idle,” Bernama reported him as saying at SK Raub Indah in Raub, Pahang, today.
He said the ministry had met Roblox representatives following a case where a six-year-old boy in Kampung Parit Nipah Laut, Batu Pahat, was severely injured after being reportedly attacked by his nine-year-old brother, said to have been influenced by online gaming.
Police investigations found that the boy who slashed his younger brother in the neck on Monday had played the children’s online game Roblox quite extensively, accumulating about a million points in the game.
The victim had apparently damaged the brother’s phone, causing him to lose all the points he had collected.
Fahmi said the company representatives were quite anxious after the case was linked to Roblox.
“I have banned my children from playing Roblox and deleted the app from all devices at home.
“However, the government has yet to make an official decision on the matter. I urge parents to monitor their children’s online activities closely,” he said.
Fahmi also said MCMC will summon the developer of the Omi dating app soon to explain a case involving a 12-year-old girl allegedly mistreated by a man she met through the platform.
“This app must come under regulatory oversight because we cannot allow such incidents to recur. MCMC is currently reviewing the app and it is understood that Omi has not yet been classified under any regulatory category.
“Our challenge is not only to restrict social media access for those under 16 but also to ensure proper age verification and identity confirmation.
“Each platform, such as Facebook and TikTok, has its own mechanisms, but they are still not enough,” he said.
