Malaysia tightens screws on internet access amid growing concerns about online freedom

The Malaysian government’s tightening of the screws on a key internet directory has heightened concerns over the state of online freedom in the country, following conflict between authorities and social media platforms amid efforts to impose licensing laws.

The move came just days after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office expressed its “disgust” at social media giant Meta’s takedown of his message of condolences over the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, prompting a meeting with platform representatives and an apology for the oversight.

On Tuesday, watchdog group Internet Monitoring Action Project (iMAP) reported that two of Malaysia’s internet providers had blocked alternative DNS servers – the internet’s “phone book” – and diverted traffic back through their own, effectively blocking certain websites deemed improper by the government.

Previously, users could sidestep their internet provider’s directory and use publicly available directories from Google or the network security firm Cloudflare to access any website, including those blocked at the behest of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

“Users that have configured their Internet settings to use alternative DNS servers would have found that they are now unable to access websites officially blocked by MCMC and getting a connection timeout error,” iMAP said on its website.

In addition to Malaysia, iMAP monitors network interference and online restrictions on freedom of expression in Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam.

Tevanraj Elengoe, founder of Malaysia’s largest tech community group DevMalaysia, said the move was damaging as it prevented Malaysians from using a more secure and