KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia should use its position as a major Southeast Asian data centre hub to compel global technology companies to strengthen safeguards against online harm involving children, said former Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is campaign ambassador for Safe Child, Strong Nation, a nationwide awareness and advocacy campaign.
He said the government had leverage because technology companies wanted to establish data centres in the country and should make child safety part of its dealings with them.
READ MORE: ‘Child protection must begin before harm occurs’ – Expert
“If you want us to host your data centre, tell us what you are doing to protect children and people generally from harmful content.
“They asked for the data centres, so we have leverage in getting the companies that run them to be accountable,” he said during a fireside chat at the National Child Protection Leadership Conference 2026 on Wednesday.
He added that technology companies were not doing enough to curb harmful material and continue to guard their algorithms as “black boxes”, despite their role in shaping what children consume online.
“You need guardrails, and you need them now, because the social conversation among young people is going in a direction which I fear.”
Khairy said social media was amplifying toxic masculinity and presenting young boys with role models who equated strength with entitlement, dominance and an inability to accept rejection.
“The role models they look up to are people who seem strong, who do not take rejection and who feel that success is an entitlement because they are men.
“We need an equally strong model of a man, or a person, who can accept rejection, for whom empathy is a source of strength rather than weakness and who is self-aware.”
However, Khairy said healthier role models often struggled to gain traction because antagonistic content attracted attention and commercial support.
“Unfortunately, it really does not sell. Businesses are starting to reinforce this ideal version of a man,” he said, adding that influencers were not always discerning about brands or content.
He also said artificial intelligence had moved sexualised manipulation beyond conventional pornography websites, including through tools that could generate or alter explicit images.
Khairy said relying solely on parents to monitor children was unrealistic, as young users could hide their online activity and navigate technology more effectively than adults.
“It is 100% impossible to monitor them. The only way is to use your power to build the firewall, and this is where the role of the government comes in.”
He added that authorities should consider age restrictions, stronger platform obligations and, where necessary, banning apps used to perpetrate or spread harassment and sexual violence.
Khairy also said child aggressors could themselves be victims, saying understanding their experiences was necessary to determine an appropriate response without excusing their actions.