Bhubaneswar, June 1 -- Malaysia has implemented new online safety regulations requiring major social media platforms to verify users' ages and prevent children under 16 from creating accounts. The rules, effective from Monday, apply to platforms with at least eight million users in the country, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

While the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has allowed a grace period for implementation, the exact timeline has not been specified.

Under the regulations, "users below the age of 16 are not permitted to register for social media accounts," according to an MCMC FAQ. Platforms are expected to use age verification measures, such as checks against government-issued IDs, pas...