Malaysia's Plan To Block Overseas DNS Dies After a Day

Malaysia's telecom regulator has abandoned a plan to block overseas DNS services a day after announcing it, following a sharp backlash and accusations of government overreach. From a report: Last Friday, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) published an FAQ that stated it had instructed all ISPs to redirect traffic headed for offshore DNS servers to services operated by Malaysian ISPs -- a move it claimed would prevent access to malicious and harmful websites such as those concerning gambling, pornography, copyright infringement or scams. 'No, the DNS redirection will not affect your connection speed or browsing experience for legitimate websites,' the Commission promised in its FAQ.

But opposition to the plan quickly emerged, on grounds that it could amount to censorship and therefore represented government overreach. Musician turned state legislator Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad labelled the decision 'draconian' and a negative for Malaysia's digital economy. Fellow state assemblyperson Lim Yi Wei described the policy as 'ill-advised,' censorship, inefficient, and unsecure -- as well as counterproductive to government efforts to develop tech startups, innovation and datacenters.

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