Internet crackdown a la Thaksin:

More than five million websites to be Blocked

"Inappropriate material"

BANGKOK: -- The government will launch a crackdown on pornographic material, offensive cartoons and Internet websites that contain inappropriate material, the government spokesman said yesterday.

Surapong Suebwonglee said more than five million websites from around the world feature rape in their content, causing widespread alarm among relevant authorities.

“There are also games about rape,” he said after he raised his concerns at the Cabinet meeting yesterday.

He said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is now planning to supervise the crackdown on pornography and has already demanded to see clear results from relevant authorities by December.

Surapong said the crackdown would target pornographic material, cartoons and websites. He believed technological systems must be in place to block pornographic websites operated overseas, while relevant officials would nail down and arrest operators of the offending sites in Thailand.

“With sincere effort from all relevant parties, the severity of the problem should dramatically drop,” he said.

--The Nation 2005-10-19

It seems to be like this already... so many POLICY DENIED when you surf in Thailand.

But it seems that M. PM doesn't know that any website will be forever available with a good proxy!

Hope that they wont block websites the chinese way... (block all, and let some works!)

I check porn sites with my girlfriend, what the hel_l is so wrong about that. Is this America now?

It seems to be like this already... so many POLICY DENIED when you surf in Thailand.

But it seems that M. PM doesn't know that any website will be forever available with a good proxy!

Hope that they wont block websites the chinese way... (block all, and let some works!)

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Yes this has already been ongoing for a while now. Don't tell him about the proxy servers or they'll be blocking free proxy sites next.

Anyway... nothing like a good crackdown! Back to the football!

The man won't rest until he controls when, where and how we poo...

They started blocking sites where you could see Thais having sex (so as not to give the wrong idea), then moved on to greater Asia (though stopping the torrent from Japan is not actually possible), and then there were the sneaky political blocks -- sensitive court transcripts and such. So what is the next step? "Inappropriate material"? Now there's a clear definition. And as for cartoons, that scourge of public decency, who exactly has to be offended? I can't think of a cartoon that has ever offended me, except perhaps a few Calvin and Hobbes ones that cut too close to the bone.

Will the thaivisa forums, the last bastion of free (if not always intelligent) English language discourse left in the country be targeted next?

All together now.... bend over, tuck and position head directly beneath rectum, wave goodbye to the outside world, insert cranium into the large intestine, inhale deeply through nostrils, open your eyes, and have a good look around at what amazing Thailand has become.... Be My Guest

seems to be a strange obsession with poo in that last post...

anyway, it can't be too bad a thing... if you really can't survive without your daily dose of internet porn, why not get your mates to email you some?

It seems to be like this already... so many POLICY DENIED when you surf in Thailand.

But it seems that M. PM doesn't know that any website will be forever available with a good proxy!

Hope that they wont block websites the chinese way... (block all, and let some works!)

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Yes this has already been ongoing for a while now. Don't tell him about the proxy servers or they'll be blocking free proxy sites next.

Anyway... nothing like a good crackdown! Back to the football!

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Lets face it this is just another attempt by Thaksin to control the masses.!

The poo thing was a theme for that particular post. I've signed up for a colonic irrigation treatment next week and it is very much on my mind.... Whatever metaphors work.

Porn isn't the only issue here. The real threat is the other offensive material they censor when a "clampdown" entitles them to hire load more "professional" net watchers who spend all day passing judgement on what is "appropriate".

Having worked in newsrooms before, I can assure you that the keyboard crunchers know instinctively what to censor without any accountable person having to spell it out.

this crackdown does not bother me. Prolly a good thing at the end of the day. Those with children would likely agree - would you have your teenage boy or girl playing these games or looking at gratuitous rape scenes? They have not gotten to the level of serious statewide censorship.

hi'

another stupid idea from the dictator ...

one step ahead ...

soon telephone!

francois

hi'

another stupid idea from the dictator ...

one step ahead ...

soon telephone!

francois

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Censorship in Thailand and Asia in general is hardly new, and given how China controls their internet, this could have been "phoned" in...

what about a crackdown on mia noi (not possible, politicians will not accept to loose theirs; you remember 2-3 years ago?), massage parlors (belonging to some influential chinese people) etc?

let the chinese do whatever they want, give thai people some handouts, and they do not care or realize that Thailand is a Chinese colony

Edited October 18, 200520 yr by Brew

I check porn sites with my girlfriend, what the hel_l is so wrong about that. Is this America now?

My good friend with, GF in tow, is either a comic and or is clueless has to what actually happen's inside the United States of America.

ATTEMPTS TO BLOCK INTERNET IP ADDRESSES • CHINA • GERMANY • THE UNITED STATES •

THE SELF-CENSORSHIP OF GOOGLE IN FRANCE AND GERMANY • FRENCH EFFORTS TO CENSOR YAHOO!

EUROPEAN UNION DOCUMENTS • CENSORSHIP LINKS Updated now Thailand.

This year Yahoo turned in, at the insistence of the Chinese Government, a journalist blogger who is now in jail for blogging his opinion.

http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/R...ip%20Report.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THA T

IS

ALL!

5.000.000 to be blocked...... :D

Someone's gonna be busy for the next 20 years!

I guess that means that thaivisa.com is due to disappear soon too. Too many freely outspoken people here. That would seem to be the next logical step for him. I wonder when he will dictate that? I have just started to wonder in the last few days how much of his time spent trying to cover up the things he is trying to hide. My guess is much more than 50%. I don’t hear too much about rape in Thailand seeing is there is so much sex available. It seems a bit on the moot side to me.

Edited October 18, 200520 yr by john Krukowski

C'mon guys, It's their country. They are allowed to govern it as they wish. Sometimes I think we (the collective we who do not hold Thai passports) forget we are guests here in Thailand. If things of this nature irritate you too much, perhaps it's time to return to your home countries.

Plus, if you really need the porn, take a trip to Panthip or Silom Road. Plenty is available there...

j.

Plus, if you really need the porn, take a trip to Panthip or Silom Road. Plenty is available there... 

j.

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Well I am sure there is some financial profit in that for him, elimination of competition only stands to boost the take. It’s not hard to see the underlying reason for this policy. People that may say what the feel ‘Inappropriate web sites,” and web sites that cut into profit. Soon to go satellite dishes, they probably will be a problem during the next dry spell by not letting the sparse rain make it to the ground. By the way, when are they going to rename Silom “VCD - DVD?”l

What??? Is nobody going to welcome Thailand becoming a hub of Internet Blocking???

>>>>>The government will launch a crackdown on pornographic material, offensive cartoons

I hope they dont block that cartoon with Ren and Stimpy ##

Its the only thing keeping me from going ####### insane!!

Will this effect TV?

Shocking. How could you ever set up an ICT business here ? Seriously ?

Shocking.  How could you ever set up an ICT business here ? Seriously ?

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Money, lots of money.

this crackdown does not bother me. Prolly a good thing at the end of the day. Those with children would likely agree - would you have your teenage boy or girl playing these games or looking at gratuitous rape scenes? They have not gotten to the level of serious statewide censorship.

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Whilst one would agree that children should indeed be kept away from such things, I thought that this was the responsibility of the parents. Or what are they there for? Well I suppose we could just ban everything, because children and teenagers might take to it.

I for one don't like being treated as a child and as such will continue to use the net via a proxy it is the only way. Using the net here is about the only breath of fresh air when it comes to freedom of information.

I applaud the PM's decision to do something. Most of you disagree with everything the PM does, or think. You're a guest and, unlike most of the Thais, you can leave whenever you feel like it. Apparantly a large portion of the TV crowd utilizes the pornographic sites for pleasure, precisely the type of person the PM is addressing.

He said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is now planning to supervise the crackdown on pornography and has already demanded to see clear results from relevant authorities by December.

At which point Mr. Big will be declaring the Internet free of porn, no doubt.

the issue here is not being able to view porn. it is FREEDOM OF SPEECH! DEMOCRACY! of course it is not farang business what the thai government does, but what kind of democracy is it where people who live full time in thailand, who support thai families are not allowed to become citizens on a equal basis because of their ethnicity? what kind of democracy allows domestic animals to just die in the street? what kind of democracy allows its owns citizens to be slaughtered on the highways because government funds for police traffic enforcement never make it to the street level past the generals and the government officials?

when you start comparing thailand to china it is getting bad.

i would suggest that the best thing that could happen in this country is the best thing that could happen in america, the ruling parties voted out in the next election.

I applaud the PM's decision to do something.  Most of you disagree with everything the PM does, or think.  You're a guest and, unlike most of the Thais, you can leave whenever you feel like it.  Apparantly a large portion of the TV crowd utilizes the pornographic sites for pleasure, precisely the type of person the PM is addressing.

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And what prey tell is wrong with pleasure? All work and no play is a shortcut to the grave. What you fail to see is all of the policies he is implementing benefit him directly. If it just happens to benefit another group or person(s), it is just luck of the draw. A politician stops being a politician the moment their decisions stop benefitting the people, and start benefitting themselves. And yes you are right ex-pats can leave anytime, however I believe the goal is to keep it a choice and not a necessity.

Will this effect TV?

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I should think the answer will be Yes and No.

Those of us who live overseas will be OK,

but you guys in LOS may loose your link to sanity.

You have better make a note of the ip address for the site

69.93.125.25 and use that instead of www.thaivisa.com

I applaud the PM's decision to do something.  Most of you disagree with everything the PM does, or think.  You're a guest and, unlike most of the Thais, you can leave whenever you feel like it.  Apparantly a large portion of the TV crowd utilizes the pornographic sites for pleasure, precisely the type of person the PM is addressing.

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Now are you saying that as an adult, you should not access such sites? Well there is only one person in this country who seems to know everything and what is best for everyone else, that is the PM. That is probably why alot of people disagree with him. But if you agree with him, that is well and good, most of us will continue to excercise our free will and disagree when we see fit.

BANGKOK: -- Thailand could serve as a regional hub for crackdowns said a normally well informed source yesterday.

With numerous crackdowns ongoing, Thailand could share it's expertise in the field of starting crackdowns.

With crackdowns on internet use, corruption, drugs, drinking, smoking, poverty and numerous others Thailand must be considered a world authority on starting crackdowns.

Obviously, to make sense of these crackdowns outside help will be required as they only seem to be announced without any further action being taken.

What is needed next is probably a crackdown on crackdowns.