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MALAYSIA’S decision to prohibit social media use for under-16s has spurred debate about how to protect children while still preparing them for an AI-driven future.
As the government pushes digital and AI education, experts warn that limiting access to the platforms where digital skills are formed risks leaving youngsters technically trained but digitally vulnerable.
Universiti Utara Malaysia School of Applied Psychology, Social Work and Policy criminologist and senior lecturer Dr Zalmizy Hussin said Malaysia is not facing a contradiction so much as a policy misalignment — one that could weaken both initiatives if treated separately.
On one side, he said, the social media ban adopts a protective and restrictive stance, treating digital platforms primarily as threats. On the other, the push for AI education positions technology as essential for national competitiveness, innovation and global readiness.
These two approaches, one that shields and one that empowers, struggle to coexist without a broader unifying framework.
“The risk is creating a generation that is technically proficient in AI but lacks critical digital literacy to navigate the very social ecosystems where AI’s most harmful impacts such as misinformation, algorithmic manipulation and deepfakes are most acute,” he said.
However, he stresses that the paradox can be addressed, but only as a temporary part of a larger digital resilience strategy, not a moral measure.
The path forward, he argues, is to integrate AI education with mandatory digital citizenship modules. These should cover AI model structures, platform data usage, algorithmic manipulation and ethical online behaviour. He suggests that the ban could function as a protected window for younger children to establish foundational digital ethics before gaining independent access.
The government’s goal, Zalmizy said, should shift from “Ban social media, but teach AI” to “use the period of reduced exposure to build AI literacy and critical thinking so young people can navigate future digital landscapes safely and confidently.” Without such integration, he said, Malaysia risks raising a generation that is highly skilled but socially vulnerable.
And in today’s reality, children are born into and fully immersed in the digital world. What once was occasional computer time is now a constant presence in their pockets, making it striking that one policy pulls them away from digital spaces while another pushes them deeper into a tech-driven future.
Under the Education Ministry’s Digital Education Policy (2021–2025) and the National AI Roadmap, Malaysia is constructing an ambitious ecosystem to nurture AI literacy from an early age.
AI concepts will enter the primary curriculum by 2027. Smartboards are replacing chalkboards nationwide. Schools are piloting AI-powered tools to flag dropout risks, while local platforms like Pandai are helping B40 students access personalised learning via smartphones.
The message is clear: Malaysia wants its children to be technologically fluent and future-ready.
But being future-ready requires more than technical lessons; it requires real digital experience. Without navigating online identity, misinformation, algorithms and emotional pressures first hand, students may learn how AI works in theory, but their understanding will remain abstract without engaging the platforms where AI actually shapes behaviour.
This is the crux of Malaysia’s digital policy paradox: can the nation prepare children for an AI-driven world while mandating they stay away from the platforms that define it?
From a criminological standpoint, Zalmizy cautions that blanket bans — much like historical prohibitions on alcohol or drugs — often fail to eliminate behaviour. Instead, they push it underground into unregulated, hidden spaces.
He said adolescents, driven by curiosity and boundary-testing, may simply turn to virtual private networks (VPNs), fake accounts or lesser-known platforms with far weaker moderation and higher predatory risk.
“A ban may not stop a determined, tech-savvy teen,” he said, adding that “it may just move them from monitored spaces into the digital equivalent of a back alley, inadvertently increasing their exposure to harm.”
This aligns with criminology’s Opportunity Theory, which warns that altering or restricting environments can create new, unexpected vulnerabilities.
But Zalmizy is also clear that unrestricted access is not the answer. The digital world is vast, borderless and often hostile, exposing young people to global networks of exploitation, scams and extremist ideologies. The challenge is not whether to protect children, but how.
“The superior goal is not to raise a generation free from social media, but a generation resilient within it,” he said.
Instead of building a wall around the digital “garden”, he suggests teaching youth navigation skills while making the terrain safer through regulation, ethical design and media literacy.
On Dec 4, Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysia was set to bar children under 16 from accessing social media and introduce stricter content controls for teenagers under 18 under new regulations being drafted as part of the Online Safety Act 2025 (Act 866).
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is developing 10 subsidiary laws aimed at strengthening online protection for minors and ensuring that young users are exposed only to age-appropriate content. These measures form part of a wider push to safeguard children in an increasingly complex digital environment.
Under the proposed regulations, social media platforms will be required to block access for users below 16 and ensure content served to those under 18 aligns with their age group. Providers must also offer effective parental control tools and prepare an online safety plan demonstrating compliance with the Act.
Last month, Fahmi said the Cabinet had approved the measure to curb cross-generational cybercrime and protect minors from online sexual predators.