Malaysia Mulls Social Media Ban for Under-16s

This photo taken on October 24, 2025 shows a fourteen-year-old boy posing at his home near Gosford, Australia as he looks at social media on his computer. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Asharq Al Awsat

08:10-24 November 2025 AD ـ 04 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1447 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

08:10-24 November 2025 AD ـ 04 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1447 AH

Malaysia Mulls Social Media Ban for Under-16s

This photo taken on October 24, 2025 shows a fourteen-year-old boy posing at his home near Gosford, Australia as he looks at social media on his computer. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Malaysia says it is planning to block children under 16 from signing up to social media accounts next year, in a move to tighten access over child-safety concerns.

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said Sunday the government was looking at how Australia and other countries dealt with imposing online age restrictions.

"We hope that by next year, social media platforms will comply with the government's decision to bar those under 16 from opening social media accounts," Fahmi said in a video posted online by Malaysian daily The Star.

"So I believe ... if the government, government agencies and parents each play their respective roles, we can ensure that the internet in Malaysia is not just fast ...but most importantly, safe, especially for children and families," he added.

Malaysia in recent years has tightened its oversight of social media services in an attempt to combat rising cybercrime.

This includes requiring platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users in the country to obtain a license under new regulations that took effect in January.

Several MPs in October backed the government's plan to ban under-16s, calling for proper mechanisms to verify the ages of users when they register for accounts.

A survey by Ipsos Malaysia Education Monitor 2025 released by local media in September, revealed that 72 percent of respondents in Malaysia agreed that the use of social media should be restricted among children.

In Australia, social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, will be forced to remove users under the age of 16 from December 10 onwards or face hefty fines.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will also introduce a similar bill to restrict children's social media use.

And the Dutch government advised parents this year to forbid children under 15 from using social media apps such as TikTok and Snapchat.

Meanwhile, five EU countries -- Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain -- are testing an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online by checking users' ages.

Indonesia Deploys Hundreds of Soldiers to Tackle Borneo Fires

In this aerial photo released by Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, smoke billows as a wildfire rages through a peatland forest in Bulungan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia. (BNPB via AP)

17:03-22 August 2026 AD ـ 09 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Indonesia Deploys Hundreds of Soldiers to Tackle Borneo Fires

Indonesia is deploying an additional 1,500 soldiers to Borneo, an official said Saturday, to help tackle wildfires that have burned through swathes of the island and created thick smog choking some areas.

Fires between January and July burned over 200,000 hectares of land -- an area three times the size of the capital Jakarta, the government said this week, as dry conditions driven by a powerful El Nino weather pattern take hold.

President Prabowo Subianto, on a visit to Borneo on Saturday to lead wildfire response meetings, ordered increased troop deployment, said Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.

"An additional three Indonesia National Armed Forces battalions, or around 1,5000 personnel, will be brought in from outside Kalimantan starting today," Teddy said in a statement.

Kalimantan is Indonesia's part of Borneo, which the country shares with Brunei and Malaysia.

Six helicopters were also set to arrive on Saturday to boost waterbombing operations, Teddy said.

The government is monitoring the situation closely, mobilizing resources to help contain the spread of the blaze, Prabowo told reporters in the Central Kalimantan provincial capital of Palangkaraya.

"We're taking mitigation measures. The important thing is to immediately stop the spread of fire spots," said the president.

Smog from the fires has prompted local governments in Borneo, home to pristine rainforest and vast plantations, to advise residents to wear masks and reduce outdoor activities.

The fires have sent smoke into Malaysian Borneo, with six areas of Sarawak state recording "unhealthy" air quality.

The area burned is already larger than during previous El Nino seasons in 2019 and 2023, but not as large as in 2015, during a particularly strong El Nino.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that brings worldwide changes in winds, air pressure and rainfall patterns. It typically brings drought in Indonesia.

Human-caused climate change can amplify its impacts because a warmer ocean and atmosphere make more energy and moisture available to feed extreme weather events.

Varieties

Heavy Rain Lashes Northeast Spain, Injuring 11

Three people were injured when a wall collapsed at the port of Roda de Bera. (AFP file)

16:19-22 August 2026 AD ـ 09 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

10:10-22 August 2026 AD ـ 09 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

16:19-22 August 2026 AD ـ 09 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

10:10-22 August 2026 AD ـ 09 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Heavy Rain Lashes Northeast Spain, Injuring 11

Three people were injured when a wall collapsed at the port of Roda de Bera. (AFP file)

Heavy rain battered northeast Spain, flooding streets, trapping people in cars, forcing the evacuation of a campsite and injuring 11 people, officials said Saturday.

Three people were injured, one critically, when a wall collapsed near the seafront at the port of Roda de Bera, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Barcelona, emergency services said. Firefighters had to free two people trapped under the rubble.

Seven people were taken to hospital following other incidents, including two who were injured when another wall collapsed during the overnight storm at a campsite in Roda de Bera.

Firefighters evacuated around 300 people staying at the campsite, with about 100 taking shelter at a municipal sports centre, officials said.

Around 100 people were evacuated from a nightclub in El Vendrell, a town of about 40,000 people, and taken to a school.

The seafront in El Vendrell was submerged under more than half a meter (20 inches) of water, while several streets in nearby Coma-ruga and Torredembarra were also flooded, Catalan public television reported.

El Vendrell was among the areas worst affected, recording 145.4 liters of rain per square meter (26.7 imperial gallons per square yard) in 24 hours, according to the Catalan Meteorological Service.

Emergency services received more than 800 calls, with firefighters rescuing people from vehicles trapped in floodwater and dealing with flooded premises, the service said in a statement.

The storm came a week after a flood and landslide triggered by torrential rain killed two women in northwest Spain.

Varieties

'Aura' Battles Leap from Social Media to Latin America Streets

A young Mexican gestures towards his opponent in an "aura battle" replete with social media memes in Mexico City on August 20, 2026. Yuri CORTEZ / AFP

Asharq Al Awsat

08:49-22 August 2026 AD ـ 09 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

08:49-22 August 2026 AD ـ 09 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1448 AH

'Aura' Battles Leap from Social Media to Latin America Streets

A young Mexican gestures towards his opponent in an "aura battle" replete with social media memes in Mexico City on August 20, 2026. Yuri CORTEZ / AFP

In the middle of a cheering crowd in Mexico City, two teenagers are limbering up for battle.

Staring at each other intently, they look as if they could come to blows.

Instead, they take turns to silently perform a series of moves and poses that look, to the untrained eye, as if they are playing charades or, as they writhe on the ground, breakdancing.

Welcome to an "aura farming" battle, a phenomenon born on social media that has spilled over onto the streets of Latin America, AFP said.

Carlos Irving Quintana, a slim 14-year-old with purple hair, wins cheers of approval with his enactment of the iconic "Siuuu" leap of Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo when he scores a goal.

He continues by "mewing," a TikTok trend where people suck in their cheeks and point a finger at their jawline to emphasize their chiseled features.

His opponent responds by juggling his outstretched palms in a "6-7," a viral youth meme that has no fixed meaning but has become so ubiquitous that even Pope Leo has taken to performing it.

- Confidence test -

On TikTok and Instagram, a person's "aura" alludes to their style or attitude, with "100% aura" high praise for the most effortlessly cool persona.

"Farming" refers to repetitive tactics used to gain points in video games.

These rare real-life gatherings of young people in the social media era are also gaining popularity in Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.

Most of the participants were between 14 and 20 years old.

They are judged on their ability to reference as many viral memes and videos as possible.

Young people gather around, recording the action on their cellphones as tinny, video game-like music emanates from a speaker.

The winner of the recent Mexico City edition was a fresh-faced Kaled Rosales Salazar, who mimicked lassoing and leading his opponent, Quintana, like a horse, with a giant white sandal as a prop.

A jury member said he recognized the youngster's potential from the moment he clapped eyes on his red Cars-themed Lightning McQueen shorts and clogs.

"Whoever looks the best, shows it off, gets the most laughs and has the most confidence wins," said 22-year-old Aldhir Gonzalez, organizer of the bout, which took place in front of the Palace of Fine Arts.

In Argentina, the contests have fueled numerous memes that have even been seized on by top-flight football clubs.

Boca Juniors posted a photo on X of its midfielder Santiago Ascacibar celebrating a goal and joking that his aura was unbeatable.

- 'Getting out of the house' -

"Aura is a lifestyle" that "almost no one understands," said the organizer of an upcoming battle in Buenos Aires.

Older audiences, however, are mystified by what some see as a dumbing down of popular culture.

"If it were up to me, there would be mandatory military service," said a mayor in Honduras who banned the battles.

Venezuelan psychologist Maria Eugenia Tovar defended the battles, arguing they "can lead to in-person encounters" for teens.

Rosales came away with 3,000 pesos (about $177) in prize money. In Argentina, the reward is the mantle of having "infinite aura."

"I plan to go to more battles," he told AFP. "More than for a prize, I do it to have fun and get out of the house."

Malaysia Mulls Social Media Ban for Under-16s

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