Malaysia - November 2025

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced on 24 November that Malaysia would ban children under 16 from social media and strengthen content controls for those under 18. The ban will come into effect in 2026, and the government is studying other countries that are implementing similar bans and drafting the relevant subsidiary legislation to the Online Safety Act. The government has said the ban is needed to prevent financial crime, cyberbullying and sexual abuse of children.

Sources: Reuters, Straits Times, 

LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups are criticizing the Kuala Lumpur police over high-profile raids on men-only spas in which over 200 men were arrested on suspicions of ‘carnal intercourse against the order of nature,’ arguing the raids are a means of perpetuating the marginalization and criminalization of LGBTQIA+ Malaysians, who have gained greater public acceptance in recent years. The police released all men within 48 hours due to a lack of evidence and responded to criticism by saying it would investigate its internal processes. Despite being released, the men’s identities were publicly exposed, and the Education Ministry announced teachers arrested in the raid had been removed from their classrooms, and the 103 who are Muslim are still set to be investigated under Malaysia’s religious law. In June 2025, police in Kelantan conducted a similar raid on a ‘gay sex party’ that turned out to be an HIV awareness and public health outreach event. 

Sources: Straits Times, South China Morning Post, Straits Times