KUALA LUMPUR – The Online Safety Act 2025 (ONSA) could pave the way for future legal action against digital platforms that fail to protect children from online harms, according to Malaysian Bar Council's AI, Cyber Law and Data Protection Committee chairperson Sarah Yong Li Hsien.
Speaking to reporters at an interview recently, Sarah said the evolving legal framework may eventually help establish a “duty of care” on online platforms in cases involving cyberbullying, harassment, grooming and exploitation affecting minors.
“In particular, the ONSA’s purpose is to impose duties and responsibilities on platforms.
“So perhaps that law has set a benchmark in terms of duties and responsibilities.
“So in the event there are harms that have happened or there is some breach of duty, perhaps that can be undertaken in terms of a civil lawsuit,” she told Scoop when met after the session today.
Sarah, however, noted that the extent to which the law can directly support civil action against platforms remains open to legal interpretation and future court rulings.
The lawyer stressed that online harms against children cannot be addressed solely through enforcement, saying society’s response must involve “prevention, protection and redress”.
“The response from society should be a mix of prevention, protection and redress,” she said.
Sarah explained that prevention includes digital literacy education for children, parents and educators, alongside safer platform designs and stronger public awareness campaigns.
“Public awareness is very important for prevention of all these online harms affecting children,” she said.
On protection measures, she said there must be clear legal prohibitions against cyber grooming, sexual exploitation, targeted harassment and cyberbullying, coupled with effective reporting and enforcement mechanisms.
She also highlighted recent amendments to the Penal Code in 2024 and 2025, which introduced laws against cyberbullying, doxxing and online harassment.
“These are the laws that actually enable lawyers to assist victims to make police reports and commence investigations against digital harassment, online harassment and cyberbullying.
“It has made it easier in contrast to before 2024,” she said.
Sarah added that redress for victims should include accessible legal remedies, rapid takedowns of harmful content and stronger support systems.
She pointed to amendments to the Sexual Offences Against Children Act in 2023, which now allow courts to issue compensation orders for child victims through criminal proceedings.
“So, the courts can direct the offenders to pay monetary compensation to child victims and also to complement the criminal sanctions with material redress,” she said.
At the same time, Sarah stressed that online safety measures must remain proportionate and not become tools for censorship or excessive surveillance.
“The protections must not be a pretext for surveillance or censorship,” she said.
She also warned against relying entirely on platforms or algorithms to shield children from harmful online content, especially with the rise of AI-generated material targeting young audiences.
“These are not fail-safe measures. None will guarantee 100 per cent effectiveness.
“As users and bad actors become more and more creative, I think parents need to be increasingly vigilant as to the content that is being viewed,” she said.
Sarah said tackling online harms against children ultimately requires cooperation between lawmakers, regulators, educators, parents, civil society groups and digital platforms.
“No single actor, no single party can fully address all these multifaceted risks that children face online,” she said.
ONSA, which came into force on Jan 1, is aimed at strengthening the regulation of online platforms and tackling harmful online content, particularly involving children and vulnerable groups.
The law empowers authorities to compel platform providers to remove harmful content, while introducing greater responsibilities on digital service providers to improve online safety measures and risk management.
ONSA also marks a significant shift in Malaysia’s digital regulatory landscape, as platform providers could increasingly face scrutiny over whether they had taken sufficient steps to prevent online exploitation and abuse on their services. - May 30, 2026
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