As Facebook faces uncertain future, Malaysian government now considers censorship of YouTube

The Malaysian government is on a roll. Three months back, it mulled over the possibility of banning Facebook locally, following 2,000 reports of abuse made in the country. That didn’t sit well with Malaysians at all. Now, the Malay Mail Online reports that authorities are looking into setting up a firewall on a number of websites including YouTube.

The goal: to ensure that any content which does not adhere to the guidelines set by the Film Censorship Board – and hence is not suited to the local culture and sensitivity – cannot be viewed by locals.

The Home Ministry is teaming up with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to make this a reality. Home minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says in the report that this was a matter of urgency, and he advises “the commission to implement the system soon.”

“We want to create awareness among the public, specifically film goers, that the censorship board has a social and religious responsibility to ensure movies adhere to set guidelines […] Content creators have to make sure their content do not lead members of society out of social and religious norms,” he adds.

Malaysia has one of strictest laws regarding media censorship in the world. Earlier this year, Hollywood’s Noah was banned for being “un-Islamic.”

See: Malaysian government ponders whether to ‘shut down’ Facebook on account of 2,000 reports of abuse