Malaysia's legal response to tackling the crime of online child pornography

Child pornography is not a novel crime. For many years, it has been a prevalent concern but since the availability of the internet, it has become more universal and pervasive, as cyberspace provides offenders with greater accessibility to victimize children. In response to this, numerous countries around the world, including Malaysia have implemented and enhanced regulations and policies to accord better protection to children from the crime. The aim of this paper is to highlight Malaysia’s legal response and its efficacy in repressing the crime of online child pornography. Accordingly, the paper uses a doctrinal approach with content analysis to consider four issues. Firstly, the international and regional legal frameworks addressing online child pornography will be explored. Secondly, the paper provides an overview of the increasing threat of the crime in Malaysia. Subsequently, the legislative intervention taken by the nation to curb the crime is analysed, accompanied by an assessment on whether the existing law is consistent with international conventions. The overall finding reveals that the Malaysian legal mechanism has been substantially reformed to safeguard children in the country from online child pornography, especially after the enactment of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017