Online child safety: Govt considers mandatory user verification
Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the move is crucial to protect children from becoming victims of online sexual predators.
He expressed concern over a recent case involving a social media influencer who allegedly sent obscene images to a 14-year-old girl.
"I'm deeply troubled by what happened — an influencer contacting a 14-year-old with lewd messages. This is something happening within our society.
"I worry because young children may not fully understand how to navigate social media safely. They look up to influencers, and sadly, some are accused of taking advantage of that trust... this is something I deeply regret," he said after the ministry's monthly assembly today.
Police have confirmed that investigations are ongoing into the case involving the influencer, who allegedly sent obscene messages to several individuals, including minors.
Fahmi also advised ministry staff to deactivate the social media accounts of their children under the age of 13 to prevent any unwanted incidents and to monitor their children's use of apps like WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, in his speech at the event, Fahmi said the Communications Ministry played a crucial role during the 46th Asean Summit, particularly in ensuring good internet access and coverage throughout the conference.
"I personally witnessed our efforts to ensure that internet connectivity, including 5G, at the International Media Centre was in excellent condition. Although some media reported WiFi issues — which were not under our purview — we took immediate action to assist.
"We helped by requesting the relevant parties to increase the number of access points to ease media operations," he said.
At the event, Fahmi also officiated the new name of the Communications Ministry's building — from Kompleks Kementerian Komunikasi to Menara Komunikasi — symbolising connectivity, technological strength, and the nation's aspirations toward progress in the field of communications.
Also present were Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching, Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, and Bernama chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
-- BERNAMA
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
Jail for threat to kill dad
Published on: Thursday, August 07, 2025 Published on: Thu, Aug 07, 2025 By: Azmie Lim Text Size: The accused being led into the court. LAHAD DATU: An unemployed man who threatened to kill his father was jailed for five years by the Magistrate Court, here, Wednesday. Azizan Azman Lee pleaded guilty before Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani to committing the offence against his father by saying 'Aku selasing Daddy' on July 30, this year. Advertisement He was charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code. Prosecuting Officer, Inspector Sitti Zubaeda M. Kasim told the court that on the day of the incident, the complainant was at home when an argument broke with the accused, who is his son. During the argument, he threatened him with the said words, causing him to fear for his safety. The incident was also witnessed by his grandchildren. The accused was said to fly into a rage due to his dissatisfaction upon knowing that the guitar given by his father was lent to the victim's grandchild who went for further studies in Kota Kinabalu. Advertisement Investigation also revealed that the accused tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine, and has prior criminal records involving crimes and drugs. He was arrested at about 11pm on the day of the incident (July 30). The Court ordered him to serve his sentence from the date his arrest. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Daily Express
13 hours ago
- Daily Express
Stop sharing images, unverified info in Zara Qairina case: AGC
Published on: Wednesday, August 06, 2025 Published on: Wed, Aug 06, 2025 By: Bernama Text Size: PUTRAJAYA: The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) has urged the public to refrain from uploading or disseminating unverified information, including images, related to the death of Form One student Zara Qairina Mahathir. According to the AGC, the circulation of unverified information and images related to the student, which are connected to the ongoing investigation by the authorities, could lead to public confusion. Advertisement It also urged the public to immediately cease such irresponsible actions. 'The dissemination of such content could potentially disrupt the smooth and effective progress of the investigation by the relevant authorities,' it said in a statement. The AGC also noted that it received the full preliminary investigation report on the case at its Sabah branch on Aug 3, and at its headquarters in Putrajaya on Aug 4. Zara Qairina, 13, was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on July 17. Advertisement She was taken to the hospital after being found unconscious in a drain near the dormitory of a religious school in Papar, at around 4 am on July 16. Yesterday, the AGC has returned the full preliminary investigation report into the death of Zara Qairina to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), for further action and completion. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
18 hours ago
- The Star
Going online in Russia can be frustrating, complicated and even dangerous
TALLINN, Estonia: YouTube videos that won't load. A visit to a popular independent media website that produces only a blank page. Cellphone Internet connections that are down for hours or days. Going online in Russia can be frustrating, complicated and even dangerous. It's not a network glitch but a deliberate, multipronged and long-term effort by authorities to bring the Internet under the Kremlin's full control. Authorities adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that won't comply. Technology has been perfected to monitor and manipulate online traffic. While it's still possible to circumvent restrictions by using virtual private network apps, those are routinely blocked, too. Authorities further restricted Internet access this summer with widespread shutdowns of cellphone Internet connections and adopting a law punishing users for searching for content they deem illicit. They also are threatening to go after the popular WhatsApp platform while rolling out a new "national' messaging app that's widely expected to be heavily monitored. President Vladimir Putin urged the government to "stifle' foreign Internet services and ordered officials to assemble a list of platforms from "unfriendly' states that should be restricted. Experts and rights advocates told The Associated Press that the scale and effectiveness of the restrictions are alarming. Authorities seem more adept at it now, compared with previous, largely futile efforts to restrict online activities, and they're edging closer to isolating the Internet in Russia. Human Rights Watch researcher Anastasiia Kruope describes Moscow's approach to reining in the Internet as "death by a thousand cuts." "Bit by bit, you're trying to come to a point where everything is controlled.' Kremlin efforts to control what Russians do, read or say online dates to 2011-12, when the Internet was used to challenge authority. Independent media outlets bloomed, and anti-government demonstrations that were coordinated online erupted after disputed parliamentary elections and Putin's decision to run again for president. Russia began adopting regulations tightening Internet controls. Some blocked websites; others required providers to store call records and messages, sharing it with security services if needed, and install equipment allowing authorities to control and cut off traffic. Companies like Google or Facebook were pressured to store user data on Russian servers, to no avail, and plans were announced for a "sovereign Internet' that could be cut off from the rest of the world. Russia's popular Facebook-like social media platform VK, founded by Pavel Durov long before he launched the Telegram messaging app, came under the control of Kremlin-friendly companies. Russia tried to block Telegram between 2018-20 but failed. Prosecutions for social media posts and comments became common, showing that authorities were closely watching the online space. Still, experts had dismissed Kremlin efforts to rein in the Internet as futile, arguing Russia was far from building something akin to China's "Great Firewall,' which Beijing uses to block foreign websites. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as Signal and a few other messaging apps. VPNs also were targeted, making it harder to reach restricted websites. YouTube access was disrupted last summer in what experts called deliberate throttling by authorities. The Kremlin blamed YouTube owner Google for not maintaining its hardware in Russia. The platform has been wildly popular in Russia, both for entertainment and for voices critical of the Kremlin, like the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Cloudflare, an Internet infrastructure provider, said in June that websites using its services were being throttled in Russia. Independent news site Mediazona reported that several other popular Western hosting providers also are being inhibited. Cyber lawyer Sarkis Darbinyan, founder of Russian Internet freedom group Roskomsvoboda, said authorities have been trying to push businesses to migrate to Russian hosting providers that can be controlled. He estimates about half of all Russian websites are powered by foreign hosting and infrastructure providers, many offering better quality and price than domestic equivalents. A "huge number' of global websites and platforms use those providers, he said, so cutting them off means those websites "automatically become inaccessible' in Russia too. Another concerning trend is the consolidation of Russia's Internet providers and companies that manage IP addresses, according to a July 30 Human Rights Watch report. Last year, authorities raised the cost of obtaining an Internet provider license from 7,500 rubles (about $90) to 1 million rubles (over $12,300), and state data shows that more than half of all IP addresses in Russia are managed by seven large companies, with Rostelecom, Russia's state telephone and Internet giant, accounting for 25%. The Kremlin is striving "to control the Internet space in Russia, and to censor things, to manipulate the traffic,' said HRW's Kruope. A new Russian law criminalized online searches for broadly defined "extremist' materials. That could include LGBTQ+ content, opposition groups, some songs by performers critical of the Kremlin – and Navalny's memoir, which was designated as extremist last week. Right advocates say it's a step toward punishing consumers – not just providers – like in Belarus, where people are routinely fined or jailed for reading or following certain independent media outlets. Stanislav Seleznev, cyber security expert and lawyer with the Net Freedom rights group, doesn't expect ubiquitous prosecutions, since tracking individual online searches in a country of 146 million remains a tall order. But even a limited number of cases could scare many from restricted content, he said. Another major step could be blocking WhatsApp, which monitoring service Mediascope said had over 97 million monthly users in April. WhatsApp "should prepare to leave the Russian market,' said lawmaker Anton Gorelkin, and a new "national' messenger, MAX, developed by social media company VK, would take its place. Telegram probably won't be restricted, he said. MAX, promoted as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more, was rolled out for beta tests but has yet to attract a wide following. Over 2 million people registered by July, the Tass news agency reported. Its terms and conditions say it will share user data with authorities upon request, and a new law stipulates its preinstallation in all smartphones sold in Russia. State institutions, officials and businesses are actively encouraged to move communications and blogs to MAX. Anastasiya Zhyrmont of the Access Now digital rights group said both Telegram and WhatsApp were disrupted in Russia in July in what could be a test of how potential blockages would affect Internet infrastructure. It wouldn't be uncommon. In recent years, authorities regularly tested cutting off the Internet from the rest of the world, sometimes resulting in outages in some regions. Darbinyan believes the only way to make people use MAX is to "shut down, stifle' every Western alternative. "But again, habits... do not change in a year or two. And these habits acquired over decades, when the Internet was fast and free,' he said. Government media and Internet regulator Roskomnadzor uses more sophisticated methods, analysing all web traffic and identifying what it can block or choke off, Darbinyan said. It's been helped by "years of perfecting the technology, years of taking over and understanding the architecture of the Internet and the players,' as well as Western sanctions and companies leaving the Russian market since 2022, said Kruope of Human Rights Watch. Russia is "not there yet' in isolating its Internet from the rest of the world, Darbinyan said, but Kremlin efforts are "bringing it closer'. – AP
