JOHOR BARU: Parents should not simply give their children access to their social media accounts as it can expose them to content and posts that may not be suitable for their age group, says a consumer group head.
Although the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and most social media platforms do not allow children below 13 to use these platforms, there are cases of parents giving access to their children to their accounts, said Malaysia Cyber Consumer Association (MCCA) president Siraj Jalil (pic).
“The MCMC has clear guidelines on this.
“However, it’s pointless if parents themselves do not have the awareness to protect their children.
“The parents’ accounts are made in accordance with their age, so the content and algorithm are catered for them, which sometimes are not age-appropriate,” he said.
He was commenting on Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching’s urging of the public not to click on any suspicious links to keep inappropriate content from popping up on their social media feed.
Siraj said that there have been cases where children register themselves on social media accounts using fake personal information.
He said parents need to know that there are “dark web” pornographic website accounts that are widely accessible via X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.
“This will have a negative impact on the children’s mental health, and before long, they might be involved in sharing files and links with friends to satisfy their sexual needs,” he said.
He also said children may be exposed to rude terms used online by irresponsible Internet users who are against the country’s leaders, authorities and Rulers.
“We see character assassination being made online every day, and children can be influenced by negative comments.
“This can erode their sense of respect for the country’s leaders.
“In the long term, we will have a society that has zero admiration for our country’s leaders.”
Siraj said MCMC should step up its awareness campaigns, especially on parents, that social media is not a safe place for children.
“There are a lot of scary things on social media,” he added.
He said parents should ensure that their children are fully prepared to explore things on their own, so that they are aware of what is right and wrong when using social media.
Earlier, Teo said that social media users should be aware of algorithms used to track the behaviour of people, any related content, posts, engagement metrics and relations with a user.
She added that the MCMC has blocked 549 pornographic and obscene websites between Jan 1 and June 1 of this year.
She said a total of 308 items of pornographic content and 29 items of obscene content were removed by social media platform providers following a request by MCMC.
