Asus gave an update saying the server is currently down but will be back up. But their response was not exactly the most reassuring that bootloader unlock will continue to be available.

The service team reply misunderstood the situation. Unlock tool is unavailable at this moment but we are allowing the possibility to unlock, please stay tuned.

One less potential customer here then

… aaaand another brand I’ll be avoiding when looking for a new phone. In my eyes a phone that can’t be rooted is kind of like a computer without access to an administrator account - you can do stuff with it, but at one point your hands are tied.

What the lame, user already buy they product but user can’t modify it like apple did…

Which means, legally, you can no longer own even the hardware of a Zenfone you bought, you now only license it. Since their OEM software is proprietary and in nearly every software’s TOS they can revoke your license to it at any time for any reason, which would effectively brick the phone if bootloader unlocking is not possible.