COMMENT | I remember back in 2007, the government under the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi administration had suggested that bloggers be registered to curb negative content, especially towards the ruling government.

This was during a period when blogging had just started gaining popularity, and we saw bloggers like Rocky’s Bru, Jeff Ooi and Tony Pua rising in popularity for blogging about politics and social issues.

If you remember, it was also during that time that the government of the day had initiated defamation proceedings against Rocky’s Bru (veteran journalist Ahirudin Atan) and Jeff Ooi (who later became a DAP MP) for things they wrote.

Of course, many critics were very vocal about what the government was considering doing. They were saying that...