KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia will require major social media platforms to verify users’ ages and bar children under 16 from registering accounts under new online safety rules that took effect on Monday.

The requirements apply to providers with at least eight million users in the Southeast Asian country — including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

But platforms will be given a grace period to implement the measures, the communications regulator has said, without specifying its duration.

The country is the latest to attempt to restrict young people’s access to social media platforms, as concern grows worldwide over their negative impact on child wellbeing.

From Monday, “users below the age of 16 are not permitted to register for social media accounts,” according to a frequently asked question (FAQ) document released by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) before the new rules came in.

Platforms are expected to implement “age verification measures,” the FAQ said, including checks against government-issued records such as identity cards or passports.

The regulations under the country’s Online Safety Act — the new Child Protection Code and Risk Mitigation Code — also require “stronger content governance” on social media.

Platforms must “implement proactive and systemic measures to mitigate harmful content risks” such as “reporting and response mechanisms, advertiser verification measures and the labelling of manipulated content where appropriate.”

Failure to comply with the two codes could result in financial penalties for the companies of up to 10 million Malaysian ringgit ($2.5 million), the MCMC said.