The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is halting the implementation of DNS Redirection on local Internet Service Providers (ISPs). This was confirmed by the Communications Minister, Fahmi Fadzil through a tweet on X.
Fahmi said that the government has decided to put a brake on DNS Redirection after considering the views of the public as well as other parties that have presented their opinions via official engagement sessions with MCMC. Despite that, the minister insists the government does not tolerate online crimes and will do what it can to ensure the online safety of Malaysians, especially kids and families.
DNS Redirection is supposed to be implemented by the end of September
The implementation of DNS Redirection was first noticed and verified in early August although the directive may have taken place as early as February. MCMC officially confirmed the implementation on 8 August although at that time, it appears that the DNS Redirection was being done in stages.
The regulator insists that the DNS Redirection was done to protect Malaysians from online harms including scams, online gambling, and pornography. However, it didn’t sit well with the public and some accused the government of increasing censorship.
The implementation seems to have had a much wider impact earlier this week as users began to report degradations on their Internet services. Among those that were affected included gaming consoles and VPN apps while certain legitimate websites such as ArtStation were also inaccessible.
MCMC acknowledged yesterday there are some hiccups and urged users to contact their ISPs to resolve any issues faced with regard to DNS Redirection. Telcos were supposed to fully comply by 30 September 2024.
