HOME Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail defended talks of censorship of foreign movie streaming channels, citing the need to preserve morals and culture.

The extension of its censorship powers may now reach Netflix and other streamers to prevent the screening of content with LGBTQ themes or stories deemed to have communist or Islamophobic messages, amid rising conservatism further stifling the creative works of local filmmakers.

The internet is abuzz with comments on this decision. Some netizens are saying that the government should not coddle Malaysians, as people should be free to watch what they want. But this may not be the case for countries like Malaysia where conservatism on various topics is in force among large segments of the population.

The authorities are proposing tighter controls due to the increasing number of films with themes conflicting with Islamic beliefs.

Now activists are criticising censorship, citing arbitrary decisions and police influence.

But on social media, some users are against such a move by the authorities. User @1Obefiend believes the government is wrong in thinking the Malaysian viewers have no access to gore, swearing or nudity.

Another user stated that Malaysia has been tagged as a country where more people are surfing the net to seek porn material.

User @bianchiat, adds spice to the debate, saying it is to control the narrative by blocking documentaries that are targeting the ‘authority’ and nudity and profanity automatically fall into the categories to ban.

User @sinyc believes censorship is already there on some streaming services. The person said they rented Oppenheimer on Apple TV+, and it was the Malaysian cinema version with the BM subtitles and all the censorship. - March 24, 2024 

https://focusmalaysia.my/netizens-now-oppose-govt-censorship-of-streaming-platforms-like-netflix/