08 October 2024

Malaysia’s Communications Ministry has instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to stop forcing local ISPs to redirect domain name service (DNS) traffic away from third-party DNS servers.

Reports in August claiming that Malaysian ISPs – including Maxis, Time dotcom, U Mobile, CelcomDigi and Telekom Malaysia’s Unifi – had implemented transparent DNS proxy, which redirects DNS queries to alternative DNS servers like Google Public DNS and Cloudflare back to local DNS servers. This method effectively prevents internet users from using alternative DNS servers to access websites blocked by the MCMC.

At the time, the MCMC responded with a statement that it was working closely with local service providers in relation to DNS management as a way to block access to websites that violate Malaysian law, but didn’t directly confirm it was ordering them to redirect DNS queries. The MCMC also claimed that 95.7% of blocked websites were involved in illegal activities such as online gambling, pornography, copyright infringement, online scams and prostitution.

However, critics have accused the MCMC of also using DNS redirection to censor websites unrelated to such activities, such as election results site Undi.info, investigative journalism website Sarawak Report and blogger site Medium.

The MCMC has now issued another statement confirming that it requires Malaysian ISPs to redirect DNS traffic, stating that the move is necessary to ‘protect users by blocking access to websites known for distributing malware, phishing, and other malicious activities, as well as filter inappropriate content such as adult material and violent websites.’

The MCMC also denied accusations that DNS redirection was ‘draconian,’ and said accusations that it was blocking legitimate websites were inaccurate. The statement added that “any websites that believe they have been unfairly targeted or affected may file an appeal through the established channels.”