PUTRAJAYA, Dec 6 (Bernama) — Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil has once again underscored the need to introduce a minimum age of 16 for social media use, saying it is essential to protect children and teenagers from exploitation and exposure to harmful online content.
Citing a recent incident in which a 10-year-old pupil asked a teacher for explicit photos via WhatsApp, Fahmi said it was a stark reminder of why tighter social media restrictions for young users are necessary.
He said the incident was reported by a teacher in Kuala Lumpur, who said her Year Four pupil had sent her the inappropriate message via the app.
“We hope issues like this can be addressed through tighter controls on social media platforms and messaging services like WhatsApp. We’re not trying to ban every application, but at this point, our main concern is social media.
“I believe the Education Ministry (MOE) is already aware of incidents like these,” he said at a press conference after officiating the closing ceremony of the 2025 Safe Internet Campaign Mega Carnival at the IOI City Mall Exhibition and Convention Centre here today.
–BERNAMA
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