Petaling Jaya, 22nd October 2025 - Protecting children in the digital world needs to start much earlier, say child advocates, amid a surge in reports of online child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) in Malaysia, with many involving victims as young as seven years old.

According to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) data, Malaysia recorded 12,656 CSAM reports from January to June 2025, representing 78% of last year's total.

Last year, a total of 16,238 reports were received by IWF, marking a 225% increase from 4,992 cases in 2023.

In 2024, the report found that 27% (4,323) of images reported involved children aged seven to 10, while 26% (4,148) were of children aged 11 to 13.

With such cases rising sharply, early digital safety education must begin as early as preschool, said Childline Foundation Director, Datin Wong Poi Hong.

The reported cases involve videos and images of Malaysian children uploaded online.

Some of these are self-generated by children themselves, while others result from grooming.

"And these figures only reflect detected or reported cases. The real number is likely much higher,” she said.

Read further on The Star's article attached.