According toTorrentFreak, a memo recently went out from the Malaysian government ordering that certain torrent sites are taken offline.
In a move that will takeThe Pirate Bay,MegaUploadandFileTubedown in Malaysia, the government is perfectly within its legal right. By law, SKMM, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, has the right to “regulate all matters relating to communications and multimedia activities not provided for in the communications and multimedia law,” as well as to recommend changes to the law. This basically means they have the final say on just about anything to do with the Internet.
The memo that went out to all Malaysian ISPs at the end of May has yet to put in effect by all providers, despite being given a 2 day window to comply.
The memo clearly lists ten sites, ordering them to be blocked by the ISPs, for a breach in law, and failing to do so would be considered an offense. This isn’t the first time the Malaysian government has ordered torrent sites to be blocked, but it is the first time since the Malaysian Prime Minister promised that his government would not censor the Internet, when giving a speech at a bloggers’ conference of all places.
Story byNancy Messieh
Lesotho-born and raised, Nancy Messieh, The Next Web’s Middle East Editor, is an Egyptian writer and photographer based in Cairo, Egypt. Fol(show all)Lesotho-born and raised, Nancy Messieh, The Next Web’s Middle East Editor, is an Egyptian writer and photographer based in Cairo, Egypt. Follow her onTwitter,her siteorGoogle+or get in touch at nancy@thenextweb.com
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