Speaking of Internet censorship, Malaysia tried its hands on filtering the Internet of "online smut" and "obscene and indecent content" (i.e. pornography). Although a certain Malay-language daily misreported on it, at now all it does is require cyber cafes to install filtering software and ISPs and telcos to make filtering services available.

Malaysian blogger Ash.ox makes a case against such filtering (which, other than cyber cafes, is still voluntary):

By this time some of you will be asking, so what’s the big deal? Why is filtering pornographic content such a bad thing? It’s not, and the answer is as old as this issue, ladies and gents: because I believe in personal responsibility and choice. I remember in 1995 every other company was offering some sort of a blocking software to stave off the onslaught of the porn industry that will definitely turn all of the world’s youths into slobbering sex-addicts.

Well, it’s been 10 years, and I haven’t heard of the legion of Internet Porn Zombies attacking anyone yet.

Some thoughts by Nilesh Babu:

I’m not saying that I’m a porn freak and that I’m feeling’ disaster after reading this news; it’s just that; we are living in a democratic country (I think so), and by blocking porn, I’m not able to exercise my freedom to surf Internet freely (and exercise other part of my body too)!!! Secondly, why do government have to decide on what I can surf and what
I can’t on the Internet. Are we trying to follow the footsteps of China or something? What’s next, bloggers need to register with the government before we can launch our own blog?