Cybersecurity experts have warned that handing national identity document (ID) data to social media platforms for electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) checks could increase the risk of that information being misused for surveillance.

Universiti Sains Malaysia professor Selvakumar Manickam told Malaysiakini that the use of eKYC could eliminate anonymity online, allowing authorities or rogue government employees to trace dissenting comments and posts to specific MyKad numbers, which contain further information on users.