PUTRAJAYA, 28 December 2025 — The Malaysian government has unveiled new measures to enhance internet safety, particularly to protect children and consumers online, by rolling out a regulatory sandbox on 1 January 2026 to test child protection mechanisms and other digital safety tools before full-scale enforcement is introduced.
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the sandbox will involve collaboration between the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and identified social media platforms to evaluate practical safety solutions in the local context. The move comes amid wider implementation of Malaysia’s Online Safety Act 2025, designed to make digital spaces safer and more accountable for users, especially vulnerable groups such as children and teens.
What the Sandbox Is and Why It Matters
A regulatory sandbox is a controlled environment in which regulators and industry players can trial new policies, tools and technology without immediately triggering full legal requirements. Fahmi said this approach will allow platforms and authorities to better assess what mechanisms work, and where gaps may exist, before moving toward full regulatory enforcement.
The sandbox will initially focus on child protection mechanisms and consumer safety frameworks online. This could include trialling age verification systems, content moderation tools and reporting functions that help reduce exposure to harmful content or risky interactions on social platforms.
Balancing Safety and Platform Capabilities
Fahmi emphasised that the sandbox is not about imposing top-down directives, but rather aligning government safety objectives with what platforms can technically and operationally support. This collaborative testing period will run for several months, giving both regulators and tech companies time to refine systems that protect users without unnecessary disruption.
While specific details of the sandbox trials are still being finalised, the government indicated it will also study global examples, such as age restrictions and e-KYC (electronic know-your-customer) systems that some countries are adopting to curb youth exposure to certain online services. Malaysia, however, has no current plans to adopt a blanket ban on social media use for those under 16; instead, it prefers platform-led age verification mechanisms that aim to safeguard privacy and user data.
Context: Online Safety Act 2025
The sandbox initiative aligns with the Online Safety Act 2025, which introduces stronger duties of care for global and local online platforms to protect users from harmful content such as cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, digital scams and other online risks. Under the new framework, platforms with millions of users in Malaysia may be automatically deemed licensed and subject to safety requirements aimed at enhancing accountability.
Supporters of stronger online safety regulations say the measures help protect children and families in a rapidly evolving digital environment, while critics caution that enforcement must strike a balance between safety and freedom of expression and privacy.
