24 May 2018

Malaysia Blocks 'Utopia Asia' Online Site

The Bangkok-based site has long been a provider of information on HIV and sexual health.

 

Internet service providers are re-routing visitors attempting to reach an information hub on HIV and sexual health in Malaysia, Gay Star News reported.
For more than 20 years, Utopia-Asia.com—with both Thai and Singaporean founders—has been a source of travel tips and updates for the LGBT community in Asia. However, censors in Malaysia have recently stopped web users from viewing the site, instead providing a message that an error had occurred in their attempts to load it.
Malaysian media watchdog the Sinar Project first reported the block earlier this month.
"It's telling that Malaysia, rather than banning hardcore sex sites, decided to bully an LGBT community page recommended over the years by TIME Magazine, The New York Times, and Lonely Planet," Utopia Asia founder John Goss originally told PR Web.
A longtime HIV consultant described discrimination against the LGBT community in Malaysia as "appalling" to PR Web. Gay Star News classified the incident as the "first example of restricting content online" concerning the queer community in the country.

 

Internet service providers are re-routing visitors attempting to reach an information hub on HIV and sexual health in Malaysia, Gay Star News reported.

For more than 20 years, Utopia-Asia.com—with both Thai and Singaporean founders—has been a source of travel tips and updates for the LGBT community in Asia. However, censors in Malaysia have recently stopped web users from viewing the site, instead providing a message that an error had occurred in their attempts to load it.

Malaysian media watchdog the Sinar Project first reported the block earlier this month.

"It's telling that Malaysia, rather than banning hardcore sex sites, decided to bully an LGBT community page recommended over the years by TIME Magazine, The New York Times, and Lonely Planet," Utopia Asia founder John Goss originally told PR Web.

A longtime HIV consultant described discrimination against the LGBT community in Malaysia as "appalling" to PR Web. Gay Star News classified the incident as the "first example of restricting content online" concerning the queer community in the country.

Malaysia