KUALA LUMPUR, 9 May 2026 – Google and YouTube today introduced Bijak Digital Bersama Google dan YouTube, an initiative aimed at equipping Malaysian families with the knowledge, tools and confidence to navigate the digital world safely. Through hands-on experiences and expert-led discussions, the programme empowers families to foster healthier, more resilient relationships with technology, encouraging a shift from active monitoring towards long-term digital confidence and mentorship.
This comes on the back of a YouGov survey commissioned by Google on AI safety perceptions and habits, which found a growing “resilience gap” among Malaysian families. While 67% of parents feel confident guiding their children on AI, many struggle to translate that confidence into consistent and effective online safety practices.
The survey also highlighted several key challenges faced by Malaysian parents:
These challenges often lead to a reliance on “active monitoring” (54%), which can be exhausting for parents and create friction with teens who value their digital independence. Against this backdrop, discussions at Bijak Digital Bersama Google dan YouTube focused on empowering families to move from short-term control towards building long-term digital confidence, open dialogue and critical thinking skills that can better prepare children to navigate the online world independently and responsibly.
Ben King, Country Managing Director, Google Malaysia, said, “Parents today are more engaged than ever in guiding their children online, but many are still navigating unfamiliar ground as technology continues to evolve. At Google, our goal is to protect kids and teens in the digital world, not from the digital world. That’s why we have been building age-appropriate experiences for our younger users and developing tools that help families manage their relationship with technology. By equipping families with the right tools and knowledge, we hope to ensure that children are able to navigate the Internet safely and confidently.”
To support this shift from monitoring to mentorship, Google and YouTube have introduced a range of built-in tools and resources designed to help families learn better through AI, while also fostering safer and healthier digital habits.
Google is also invested in building age-appropriate experiences for our younger users, and developing tools that put parents in the driver’s seat to shape their families’ digital experience with tailored products and features. This includes:
Across its platforms, Google and YouTube continue to strengthen safeguards for younger users including age-appropriate experiences, enhanced content protections and tools that help users better understand and verify what they see online. These efforts reflect a broader commitment to ensuring children and teens can explore, learn, and grow online in a way that is both safe and empowering.
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