Mohamad Syawal Samsuddin, a 37-year-old father of two young boys, said he supported Malaysia’s new under-16 social media ban because of concerns about harmful content and its effect on his children’s safety, mental health and privacy.

But he said the policy was not a substitute for parental supervision.

“The onus is on parents to monitor and observe their children’s behaviour online,” he said.

Cybersecurity and digital rights experts also question whether the ban can fully protect children, warning that its age-verification system could expose sensitive identity data while doing little to stop determined young users from finding workarounds.

The rules, which took effect on Monday, require social media platforms to verify users’ ages through government-issued identity documents or official digital identity systems, restrict under-16s from opening accounts and strengthen child-safety measures such as parental controls, privacy settings, content moderation and search or recommendation systems.