KUALA LUMPUR: Parents have generally agreed with Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil's view that children under the age of 13 should not open a TikTok account to avoid harm.
According to Fahmi, it is inappropriate for children under the age of 13 to have any social media account..
He said if these children were found to have such social media accounts, then it would be shut down by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Parents have responded positively to the statement. Many felt it was a positive move.
Noor Assikin Daud Khan, 35, said she agreed with Fahmi and even suggested prohibiting the activation of TikTok accounts not just to children under 13 but also all schoolgoing children.
"Parents monitoring isn't enough as the children will definitely have tricks or ways to hide something from us.
"Sometimes, adult content can appear while the children are watching," she added.
Another parent, Sasikala Ispran, 45, said children under 13 were easily influenced and had a high level of curiosity which would make them want to try out things that appeared on TikTok including mischievous or negative content.
"I don't encourage kids under 13 to watch TikTok because there are elements that are not good such as the way some people dress and the tendency towards violence.
"If adults can be so easily influenced, what more the young ones?" she added.
Some parents supported the authorities monitoring of such matters as they felt that certain things online were better handled by the relevant authorities like the MCMC.
"It's good to have the government deal with this matter as their help is needed to help parents in monitoring their children.
"There are some actions that can only be taken by the government, not the parents." said a parent who wanted to be known as Lee.
The New Straits Times has reached out to Fahmi for a response.
