Malaysia orders telecoms firms to hand over user data, raising privacy concerns

The Malaysian government has ordered the country’s telecommunications firms to hand over detailed records of phone calls and internet usage, according to industry sources, raising concerns about the state’s use of data as it broadens its controls over online activity.

In April, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission sent a letter to telecoms companies instructing them to send detailed call and internet logs for the first three months of this year, apparently for the government’s Mobile Phone Data project, two industry sources confirmed.