Kuala lumpur: Greater parity between laws governing the physical and digital worlds is essential to better tackle the rising wave of online threats, particularly those targeting children and other vulnerable groups, said Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) member Derek John Fernandez. Delivering his keynote address at the International Regulatory Conference (IRC) 2026 today, he emphasized that while strict age restrictions are widely enforced for physical activities, such as viewing certain films, similar safeguards are yet to be consistently applied in the digital environment, allowing criminals to exploit weaker regulatory frameworks.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Fernandez highlighted the discrepancy between real-world and digital laws. 'If we look at the whole framework of laws in our society, we have always imposed age restrictions where we feel that there is value in ensuring that minors have not reached the level of maturity, even for criminal liability. But yet in the digital world, we have differences.' This disparity, he argued, emboldens criminals in the digital realm due to anonymity, lax laws, and the ease of evasion.
The event was officiated by Communication Minister Datuk Seri Fadhmi Fadzil. Fernandez noted that Malaysia is responding by strengthening its regulatory framework through the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA), and amendments to the Penal Code. These measures include requiring platforms to verify users' identities and ages to better protect minors online.
Fernandez stressed that online safety has become one of the country's most pressing regulatory priorities. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence, social media, and digital technologies have created new opportunities for scams, fraud, cyberbullying, child exploitation, and other online harms. He revealed that the MCMC receives two to three reports involving child sexual abuse material daily and executes approximately 1,700 takedowns of harmful online content every day.
While acknowledging diverse opinions among regulators and industry players on digital platform governance, Fernandez emphasized the unanimous agreement on protecting children. The concept of child safety has evolved, with children now exposed to risks even within their homes through connected devices. Unlike the physical world, where parents can monitor their children's whereabouts, the digital world operates without boundaries or time limits, exposing young users to risks around the clock.
Fernandez also cautioned that personal data has become a valuable commodity in the digital economy, enabling criminals to weaponize information for scams, fraud, and child exploitation. He highlighted the challenge for regulators to balance public interest with the commercial objectives of technology companies, many of which rely on extensive data collection as part of their business models.
An increasing number of countries are moving towards introducing age-based restrictions on children's access to social media as part of broader efforts to enhance online safety. While acknowledging that age verification alone will not eliminate online harms, Fernandez suggested it should be part of a broader, multi-layered strategy combining legislation, technology, enforcement, and international cooperation.
The third edition of the IRC, themed 'Shaping the Next Digital Era: Regulation, Resilience and Trust,' reflects Malaysia's shift towards implementing its own policy frameworks, including the ONSA 2025, which came into force on January 1 this year.