Round-the-clock breaking news from Malaysia.
New Zealand will introduce legislation to ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, with penalties reaching 10% of global revenue for non-compliant companies.
Meta faces accusations from 29 US states of deliberately hooking children on Instagram. A trial has revealed that the company's touted safety features—Take a Break and Quiet Mode—achieved adoption rates below 9%, contradicting public claims.
A Meta safety engineer whose testimony bolstered a child protection case against the social media giant has cast doubt on an $18 billion settlement with US states, arguing it does not tackle the fundamental harms he documented.
A worldwide movement to restrict minors' social media access has accelerated, with over a dozen nations enacting or considering age-limit laws. Yet enforcement failures in Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia reveal the practical obstacles regulators face.
A former Meta engineering director resumed testimony Wednesday in a landmark trial where four US states accuse the company of designing addictive platforms and concealing safety risks to teenagers.
Meta begins a watershed federal trial in Oakland on August 18 as 29 US state attorneys general seek penalties exceeding $193 billion for allegedly designing Facebook and Instagram to addict young users. The case signals a shift toward holding platforms accountable through product design rather than content.
Malaysian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into a Facebook account holder accused of uploading posts deemed seditious and insulting towards the monarchy and government institutions, marking another case of online speech scrutiny.
Meta confronts a pivotal legal challenge as California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey pursue federal court claims that the tech giant deliberately engineered addictive features for children, drawing comparisons to tobacco industry litigation.
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $567 million and restrict teen access to Facebook and Instagram, marking a significant victory in U.S. litigation over social media's impact on young people. The ruling may reshape how platforms operate globally.
A UK government proposal for a voluntary overnight social media curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds faces a credibility crisis, with 85% of teenagers surveyed saying they would disable the default restrictions, raising questions about whether voluntary measures can address online harms.
Malaysia's Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is enforcing restrictions on social media access for users under 16, requiring major platforms to implement age verification systems and strengthen safety measures.
Malaysia's Communications Ministry has outlined enforcement measures requiring social media platforms to verify users are at least 16 years old using official documents like MyKad, with the MCMC monitoring compliance and imposing penalties up to RM1 million.
Vietnam is considering new regulations that would prevent children under 16 from posting or commenting on social media, requiring parental registration and platform oversight of age-appropriate content.
The Philippine National Police chief has signalled interest in adopting or strengthening an Australian-style social media ban for minors to combat online radicalisation and prevent school shootings, following a deadly attack in Tacloban City.
A US federal appeals court has blocked a key provision of Texas's children's online safety law, ruling that federal protections for social media companies override the state's requirement to monitor and filter harmful content.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil says social media activity during Negeri Sembilan's state election campaign has remained largely controlled, with MCMC receiving just 16 complaints. He warns of potential surge in final campaign days.
From Australia to the UAE, governments worldwide are moving to restrict or ban social media access for children, with five nations already enforcing bans and many others legislating similar measures.
France is racing to pass legislation banning social media use by children under 15 and mobile phones in secondary schools before parliament's summer recess, with final votes scheduled for July 21.