Youtube

[StrongView]

Yep, YouTube is back for real.

Source: Boing Boing

YouTube unblocked in Thailand, after helping gov block political clips

BoingBoing reader and Thai blogger Myo Kyaw Htun was among many to share the news with us today that YouTube is -- as of today -- once again accessible to users inside Thailand.

It has been more than three and an half month since April 3, 2007 after YouTube was blocked in Thailand. Finally, YouTube is back here again.

Link to Myo's blog post. Here's a background article on the incident, from April.

Various sites are reporting that part of the reason for the "unblocking" is that YouTube offered to help the government block access to specific video clips considered offensive to the nation's monarch, Bhumibol Adulyadej. This way, the logic goes, Thailand's internet censors would not be compelled to block the entire YouTube domain: Link, and Link.

Insulting the monarchy in Thailand, through silly YouTube parody videos or otherwise, is a crime known as lese majeste.

[StrongView]

Unbelievable. It's out again. The Royal Thai Police are now blocking it. Here's what I get:

Sorry, the web site you are accessing has been closed by Royal Thai Police due to inappropriateness such as pornography, gambling or contain any information which is deemed to violate national security.

For more information, please contact "Police Information System Center" Bld#19 2nd Flr, Royal Thai Police, Rama I, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel. 0-2251-0164,

email : [email protected]

http://www.police.go.th

[spot]

No Youtube True Bangkok.

Won't even connect to the Mict site - just get this http://w3.mict.go.th/ci/blocked.html

[chevykanteve]

Unbelievable. It's out again. The Royal Thai Police are now blocking it. Here's what I get:

Sorry, the web site you are accessing has been closed by Royal Thai Police due to inappropriateness such as pornography, gambling or contain any information which is deemed to violate national security.

For more information, please contact "Police Information System Center" Bld#19 2nd Flr, Royal Thai Police, Rama I, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel. 0-2251-0164,

email : [email protected]

http://www.police.go.th

The shutdown, if in fact there is another one taking place, might be indicative of frustration: I mean, it must be hard to collect tea money from an overseas company. And as far as inappropriateness goes, it's comforting to know that righteously-appropriate people are monitoring the situation with their customary fervor and dedication to the job.

[trajan]

youtube works OK for me (in Bangkok, with IPS inet)

[Neeranam]

works for me in Khon Kaen (govt.)university

Edited July 25, 2007 by Neeranam

[dekka007]

Been working all morning and still is on TOT in BKK.

[spot]

Has there been any official announcement that it's now unblocked?

Just seems to be appearing here and there...

[cclub75]

Been working all morning and still is on TOT in BKK.

I confirm that on TOT dialup, it's working since last night.

However, on True ADSL Bangkok, still "niet".

[skalp]

True Bkk, still not working without the proxy...

[dekka007]

Think you will have to wait up to 24 hours for the DNS servers to update for your ISP that could be why some ISP's are working and some are not.

Edited July 25, 2007 by dekka007

[sbk]

TT&T maxnet, worked yesterday late afternoon, blocked today.

Access Denied (policy_denied)

Your system policy has denied access to the requested URL.

[Crossy]

Back on our ToT link in the office, KSC is still off

[huma79]

It's working for me for the first time in months.. I'm using AIS BuddyBB in Bangkok

[garro]

I am using an Ipstar satellite in Phitsanulok province and it is still blocked. It was open last week for a few hours though.

[geronimo]

http://www.youtube.com/

well it's not for me

here's what I get

http://w3.mict.go.th/ci/blocked.html

[tom yum goong]

still not working on KSC leased line or TOT goldcyber down here in Phuket =(

[kmart]

Blocked again on TOT today. Helloooooo???? Arse calling elbow... come in please?????

[jayceenik]

My guess: YouTube will NOT come back. It contains just too many Mr T. news clips (CNN interviews, etc). I think it is at times unblocked for a limited period at the request of "influential" ISP subscribers (embassies, news services, corporations) who request to be able to access a clip of interest to them.

[KruJoe]

First read this thread a couple of weeks ago, I've enjoyed playing on metacafe and clipser since then -- thanks for the suggestions folks.

But as of today, metacafe seems to heve gone the way of the dear departed youtube. I just get the same IE message displayed after a pause:

"The page cannot be displayed"

etc

For now clipser seems to be ok, (though it often gets a bug and has to shut down IE).

Hope I don't jinx it...

TOT Muang Chiang Mai

[allexx]

First read this thread a couple of weeks ago, I've enjoyed playing on metacafe and clipser since then -- thanks for the suggestions folks.

But as of today, metacafe seems to heve gone the way of the dear departed youtube. I just get the same IE message displayed after a pause:

"The page cannot be displayed"

etc

For now clipser seems to be ok, (though it often gets a bug and has to shut down IE).

Hope I don't jinx it...

TOT Muang Chiang Mai

http://www.killsometime.com/Video/video.asp?ID=353

Try this one,very funny...the clip is from Iceland.

[spot]

There's big article on the front page of the Bangkok post about Filipino prison inmates starring on Youtube. The article then goes on to say that unfortunately Youtube is banned in Thailand.

Weird.

I hope it's the start of a subtle press campaign to get youtube back

[rainman]

It works for me and has always worked for me. But then again I use the "thing we don't speak about"

[Erwin1011]

http://www.killsometime.com/Video/video.asp?ID=353

Try this one,very funny...the clip is from Iceland.

I didn't realize they were speaking Flemish/Dutch in Iceland...You learn something new every day

[jayceenik]

Excerpt from the Telegraph/UK 30JUL07 (the next to last sentence explains it all...):

The popularity of online television and video is growing. Videos on YouTube, the video sharing site, now account for 10 per cent of all traffic on the internet, according to analysts Ellacoya Networks. In just one day, YouTube sends the data equivalent of 75 billion emails.

Hitwise, which monitors internet searches, said visitor levels to YouTube have grown by 70 per cent since January and search engine Google thought the site had such massive potential it agreed to pay $1.65 billion for it last year - despite it having never made a penny of profit at the time.

Thousands of fresh videos arrive on the sites every day, courtesy of the millions of people around the world willing to spend their time uploading videos for others to watch.

YouTube is even regarded as an important medium for politicians to reach their electorate.

Tony Blair was the first world leader to have his own YouTube channel and, last week, nearly 3,000 video questions to White House candidates were submitted via YouTube in a debate aired on the CNN channel.

[sriracha john]

My guess: YouTube will NOT come back. It contains just too many Mr T. news clips (CNN interviews, etc). I think it is at times unblocked for a limited period at the request of "influential" ISP subscribers (embassies, news services, corporations) who request to be able to access a clip of interest to them.

Until YouTube removes the offensive videos which prompted the block in the first place, and which have nothing to do with the videos you describe, the block will remain in place.

[jayceenik]

My guess: YouTube will NOT come back. It contains just too many Mr T. news clips (CNN interviews, etc). I think it is at times unblocked for a limited period at the request of "influential" ISP subscribers (embassies, news services, corporations) who request to be able to access a clip of interest to them.

Until YouTube removes the offensive videos which prompted the block in the first place, and which have nothing to do with the videos you describe, the block will remain in place.

Posting that short (40"), crude and very offensive (to the Thais) clip was a sure way to rally the people behind the blockage. That video was removed by the user him/herself in early April, anyway. Maybe there are other clips like that one posted since by some who definitely want YouTube to stay blocked in Thailand. Now, why would that be?

[sriracha john]

My guess: YouTube will NOT come back. It contains just too many Mr T. news clips (CNN interviews, etc). I think it is at times unblocked for a limited period at the request of "influential" ISP subscribers (embassies, news services, corporations) who request to be able to access a clip of interest to them.

Until YouTube removes the offensive videos which prompted the block in the first place, and which have nothing to do with the videos you describe, the block will remain in place.

Posting that short (40"), crude and very offensive (to the Thais) clip was a sure way to rally the people behind the blockage. That video was removed by the user him/herself in early April, anyway. Maybe there are other clips like that one posted since by some who definitely want YouTube to stay blocked in Thailand. Now, why would that be?

Just to keep things in proper time sequence...the video was put up... and then the blockage began. Subsequently, other offensive videos, even more offensive, were then also put up.

Several months ago, Google agreed to remove all the offensive videos and to their credit most were, but not all, and the blockage has remained in place in response to that incomplete removal of the offensive videos.

These events have all been detailed and chronicled in other youtube threads.

Edited July 31, 2007 by sriracha john

[TAWP]

It works for me and has always worked for me. But then again I use the "thing we don't speak about"

Interestly enough the 'thing we don't speak about' isn't working well enough [anymore] [for me]. We could continue this in a PM, but since I don't think it's against the rules to just talk about _how_ they have blocked the site...

It seems that if you use a local DNS most ISPs have alteredt the nameresolve to our favorite go.th-site.

Accesing the site via IP also does this.

So right there, there is a dual layer of protection.

[Makes paus to see if post get's removed.]

And btw I don't think youtube should remove any videos nomatter who complains, as long as they follow the set rules of the site.

[geronimo]

It works for me and has always worked for me. But then again I use the "thing we don't speak about"

What thing would that be??