KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia warned TikTok on Thursday to crack down on age restrictions for users in the Southeast Asian nation to stop cyberbullying, saying the social media platform could face penalties for noncompliance.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said there had been an upswell of cyberbullying incidents, as well as a recent raft of deepfake scams mainly posted on platforms such as TikTok and Facebook.

“TikTok states that children [younger than] 13 are not allowed [to have an account], but the reality is, it’s happening,” Fahmi told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur.

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“I am not satisfied with TikTok’s attitude of not being serious in taking action to tackle these issues,” he said after meeting TikTok officials at the Malaysian police headquarters in the capital.

“These are the matters mentioned to TikTok. There needs to be a system of age verification,” Fahmi said.

He added that he “will leave it” to TikTok, Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and police to flesh out details.

TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Malaysia is introducing a comprehensive new set of laws in October to boost online safety, especially for minors.

The Online Safety Act will target social media platforms if they continue to publish harmful content, including cyberbullying and deepfake images used to scam citizens, Fahmi said.

He also said Malaysia would give TikTok “time to assess the requests and issues faced by police and the MCMC.”

“They need to understand that fully and report back,” the minister added.

Malaysia warns TikTok vs cyberbullying, deepfakes

Malaysia had “no plan” to ban TikTok, Fahmi said, but added that “they must comply with our laws to still operate.”

Malaysia ranked fifth in the world for cyberbullying and second in Asia, behind China, the most recent figures from the United Nations Children’s Fund show.

The MCMC took down more than 8,700 posts last year related to cyberbullying, compared to around 1,700 in 2023, Malaysian reports said.

Several cyberbullying cases were also reported, including that of a young influencer who was found dead at her family home in Kuala Lumpur last year after a sustained campaign of online harassment.