Malaysia blocked over 6,600 websites
Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Ministry has blocked 6,640 internet sites that breached the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Furthermore, more than twenty cases are currently being investigated under the Act.
Deputy Minister of Multimedia and Communications Datuk Jailani Johari said the websites blocked include fake bank websites and such with copyright infringement, pornography and insulting the royal institution.
Jailani said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission acted on reports of abuse of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook which made threats, insults or touched racial sensitivities.
“Under Section 263 (2) of the Act, the licensee is required to help prevent social media-related offenses or violation of related laws including blogs with comments of seditious or defamatory nature.
“We need complete information about the account holder such as address URL, print screen and proof that enables the matter to be investigated and taken action.”
However, Jailani said, the ministry preferred the educational approach in encouraging netizens to self-regulate the content that they post online. He said this was because of the expansive nature of the Internet, which made it impossible to control the contents of personal websites and blogs. Jailani said there are 13 million Facebook users in Malaysia of whom 46.1 per cent were women.
“Although the government feels that there should be no Internet censorship, it does not mean that people can post seditious or malicious things online, especially those that can create disunity,” he said in reply to a question by Senator Abdul Shukor Mohd Sultan during questioning at the Lower House of Parliament. Shukor wanted to know if the government planned on censoring websites and blogs that carried defamatory content against the government and royalty.
However, it is also well known in the netizen community that government-blocked sites are relatively easy to bypass, be it via VPN or via proxy servers outside the country.
Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Ministry has blocked 6,640 internet sites that breached the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Furthermore, more than twenty cases are currently being investigated under the Act. Deputy Minister of Multimedia and Communications Datuk Jailani Johari said the websites blocked include fake bank websites and such with copyright infringement, pornography and insulting the royal institution. Jailani said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission acted on reports of abuse of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook which made threats, insults or touched racial sensitivities. "Under Section 263 (2) of the Act, the licensee is required to...
Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Ministry has blocked 6,640 internet sites that breached the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. Furthermore, more than twenty cases are currently being investigated under the Act.
Deputy Minister of Multimedia and Communications Datuk Jailani Johari said the websites blocked include fake bank websites and such with copyright infringement, pornography and insulting the royal institution.
Jailani said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission acted on reports of abuse of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook which made threats, insults or touched racial sensitivities.
“Under Section 263 (2) of the Act, the licensee is required to help prevent social media-related offenses or violation of related laws including blogs with comments of seditious or defamatory nature.
“We need complete information about the account holder such as address URL, print screen and proof that enables the matter to be investigated and taken action.”
However, Jailani said, the ministry preferred the educational approach in encouraging netizens to self-regulate the content that they post online. He said this was because of the expansive nature of the Internet, which made it impossible to control the contents of personal websites and blogs. Jailani said there are 13 million Facebook users in Malaysia of whom 46.1 per cent were women.
“Although the government feels that there should be no Internet censorship, it does not mean that people can post seditious or malicious things online, especially those that can create disunity,” he said in reply to a question by Senator Abdul Shukor Mohd Sultan during questioning at the Lower House of Parliament. Shukor wanted to know if the government planned on censoring websites and blogs that carried defamatory content against the government and royalty.
However, it is also well known in the netizen community that government-blocked sites are relatively easy to bypass, be it via VPN or via proxy servers outside the country.
