EKYC, A CRUCIAL MOVE TO ENHANCE DIGITAL SECURITY, PROTECT CHILDREN

By Vikneswaran Raman

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The implementation of digital user identity verification or electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) is increasingly important in the country's digital landscape because it is able to strengthen cyber security, reduce online fraud, protect children and restore public confidence in the use of digital platforms.

Besides, with cybercrime, cyberbullying and online child exploitation continuing to increase, eKYC is seen as capable of making a major impact on Malaysia through the establishment of user accountability, the eradication of fake accounts and the creation of a safer and more responsible digital ecosystem for all members of society.

Social media currently continues to be a field of insults and personal attacks among users who hide behind fake identities and 'cyber warriors' (keyboard warriors), while social problems involving school students are also showing a worrying trend.

The uncontrolled space has led to an increase in cyberbullying cases, leading to various incidents such as depression, mental health problems and even suicide. In Malaysia, there are 33.1 million active social media users or 96 per cent of the total population in the country, including approximately 10.6 million users under the age of 18.

Based on the Student Self-Identity System (SSDM) of the Ministry of Education, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh on Oct 8 said data showed that 7,681 bullying cases were recorded in 2024 compared to 6,528 cases in 2023.

More worrying and sad is when a handful of teenagers and children are exposed to the production and sale of pornographic content on digital platforms including Telegram and the 'dark web', due to exposure to uncontrolled cyber access.

In fact, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Oct 10 expressed the government's commitment to address the matter by allocating RM32 million to combat online fraud or scams and cyber threats, including sexual crimes that exploit children in cyberspace through Budget 2026.

Commenting on the matter, media studies and digital media socialization expert Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shafizan Mohamed opined that the implementation of eKYC was the right step taken by the government, especially in the current situation when cybercrime and digital crime are becoming more prevalent.

She said eKYC could create a form of filtration that would increase awareness among the public and platform operators, and even make criminals more cautious because they could no longer interact, communicate or conduct online business as they pleased without leaving a trace of their identity.

"The biggest advantage of eKYC is the concept of traceability, we can get a footprint, track the use of accounts because people need to use their real identities. So, this can reduce the use of fake accounts because in general it seems to be quite troublesome for syndicates or scammers in this process because they also have to do all these steps through eKYC.

“Setting age limits using official documents can ensure that parents are more aware that their children cannot open accounts at will, while platforms can distinguish between adult and child accounts. As a result, security controls have become tighter, thus we can protect our children from adult strangers and can place warnings on risky accounts,” she told Bernama, recently.

In this regard, the government's efforts through the Ministry of Communications and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to implement eKYC for social media by the second quarter of 2026 are seen as an important step in strengthening the country's digital security and protecting children from risks on the platform.

The initiative, which involves the use of MyKad, passport or MyDigital ID for social media account registration, is not only believed to increase transparency and accountability of users, but also has a major impact on Malaysia including reducing digital fraud, combating fake accounts, supporting the growth of the digital economy and upholding a healthier and safer digital culture.

The implementation of eKYC is also expected to facilitate action against cases of cyberbullying, threats, defamation and risky activities involving children, in addition to enabling more effective enforcement of the minimum age limit of 16 years for opening social media accounts.

Shafizan, who is also a lecturer at the Department of Communication at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), said social media platforms also need to play a greater role in ensuring the safety of young users such as teenagers and children through the implementation of more age-appropriate algorithms and the provision of an efficient complaints system.

She also stressed that the successful implementation of eKYC would have a positive impact on Malaysia, especially in strengthening the country's position as a country that is serious about data protection, cyber security and the digital well-being of users.

However, she said the effectiveness of eKYC depends on continuous enforcement and monitoring, digital literacy among the community, the role of parents and the commitment of social media platforms to comply with national guidelines.

Meanwhile, Head of the Cyber ​​Security Research Group (CyReg) of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Dr Mohd Izuan Hafez Ninggal also agreed that eKYC is a good mechanism to identify the real individual behind a digital account.

“In the context of reducing the risk of children using digital platforms, eKYC can increase enforcement because the existing method only relies on age declaration.

“However, its effectiveness also depends on educational support, parental control and community. Without comprehensive supervision, children still have the potential to use adult identities, similar to the issue of opening social media accounts or purchasing cigarettes under the age of 18,” he said.

The senior lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, UPM, also explained that the world is now divided into two main dimensions, namely physical and virtual, just as the use of an identity card is required to prove identity in the real world, the same concept should be applied in the digital world to ensure that every user provides true information.

He said the formation of a strong digital identity through eKYC would have a major impact on Malaysia in terms of security, user confidence and the development of the digital economy which depends on a safe and trusted ecosystem.

However, he said, whether eKYC should be mandatory or not depends on the system design, data security and governance, data ownership model and the level of process transparency.

“In the context of reducing the risk of children using digital platforms, eKYC can increase enforcement because the existing method only relies on age declaration.

"However, its effectiveness also depends on educational support, parental control and community. Without comprehensive supervision, children still have the potential to use adult identities, similar to the issue of opening social media accounts or purchasing cigarettes under the age of 18," he said.

Mohd Izuan also stressed that the data ownership model is a sensitive issue because it involves people's privacy, in addition to the potential to become a 'treasure trove' for hackers.

He also reminded that unequal access to technology among the B40, the elderly, the disabled and rural residents needs to be addressed to ensure that the implementation of eKYC does not further widen the digital divide.

-- BERNAMA