Malaysia has blocked country-wide access to downloading Grindr and other queer-friendly dating apps amid an ongoing crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights.

In a parliamentary reply, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it is taking “action against content or application functions that violate domestic laws, including those involving the spread of pornographic or immoral content, exploitation or abuse, fraud, child abuse or threats to public safety.”

This was in response to another parliament member who had accused LGBTQ+ apps of facilitating “deviant” relationships. The MCMC said it will approach Google Play and the Apple Store to limit access to Grindr and Blued.

The bid to block access to LGBTQ+ dating apps is part of a broader rollback of LGBTQ+ rights in Malaysia, where both same-sex sexual activity and being openly trans are prohibited under the Federal Penal Code and state-enacted Sharia laws. Those convicted of same-sex intimacy or being openly transgender can face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and whipping.

These laws have been enforced in the past, with reports of arrests, prosecutions, and corporal punishment in recent years. In 2018, in what was the state of Terengganu’s first official conviction for same-sex activity, two women were publicly caned six times each and ordered to pay RM3,300, approximately €678. Women’s Aid Organisation, a Malaysian rights group, described it as a “grave violation of human rights”.

Last November, 200 men were arrested in Malaysia after a raid at a gym and sauna in Kuala Lumpur that authorities suspected might be hosting a male-only sex party. Police had been monitoring the wellness centre prior to the raid. Those arrested were subsequently released.

Another concerning development in Malaysia’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights emerged in 2023, when the Department of Islamic Development launched a so-called “conversion therapy” app, which, according to its description, includes “suggestions, ideas, explanations and interpretations” to help users “overcome the problem of homosexuality”.