Ministry to cut officials' access to social media

Wattana Kamchu

The Nation

source: wikimedia

BANGKOK: -- Interior Ministry officials will be able to access the popular social-networking website Facebook only during their lunch break after a ban goes into effect from October 1.

The ministry issued the order banning access to its officials' favourite website after finding that its bandwidth went low because of excessive Internet usage for websites that did not seem to be related to the ministry's work.

Internet tracking has revealed that Interior officials have visited www.facebook.com too often.

"The slow bandwidth has disrupted teleconferences," Manrat Rattanasukhon said yesterday in his capacity as the head of the ministry's Information and Communication Technology Centre.

He said his centre proposed the regulation to ban Facebook between 8.30am and noon and also between 1pm and 4.30pm to the ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Pracha Terat, who on Thursday signed the order to enforce the ban.

"We will still allow www.youtube.com but will make downloads related to this website slower," Manrat said.

He said the bandwidth was prepared for teleconferences, not for anything unnecessary.

"We will enforce the new rule from October 1 onwards," he added.

An Interior official in Khon Kaen said he did not agree with the ban because Facebook in fact facilitated coordination and was now a channel for many government units to communicate with people.

"Facebook has saved time and expense, too. You don't have to make a call. Facebook has allowed two-way communication," he said.

Lamphun Governor Surachai Khan-asa said he had not yet received the order in writing. "But I agree with the ban. I believe officials will then devote more time to working for public services."

He said he was still worried that some government officials might simply turn to their smart phones for browsing these social-networking websites.

-- The Nation 2012-09-08

One of my GFs first complaints about her new job was they did now allow facebook during work!

5555555

Have u ever heard anything so pathetic? They ban millions of websites per year and can't work out how to set up the ministry firewall?

He said his centre proposed the regulation to ban Facebook between 8.30am and noon and also between 1pm and 4.30pm to the ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Pracha Terat, who on Thursday signed the order to enforce the ban.

They'll have to plan accordingly for their crop planting in Farmville, otherwise there will be massive losses from crops maturing and then rotting during the times when they have no access to harvest.

Government workers will really have to step up their game, otherwise the potential losses of precious assets could be catastrophic for Thailand's players.

.

Edited September 8, 201213 yr by Buchholz

He said his centre proposed the regulation to ban Facebook between 8.30am and noon and also between 1pm and 4.30pm to the ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Pracha Terat, who on Thursday signed the order to enforce the ban.

They'll have to plan accordingly for their crop planting in Farmville, otherwise there will be massive losses from crops maturing and then rotting during the times when they have no access to harvest.

Government workers will really have to step up their game, otherwise the potential losses of precious assets could be catastrophic for Thailand's players.

.

Government workers - now there's an oxymoron.

That makes me just want to cry

Edited September 8, 201213 yr by jerrysteve

It's reasonable, 10 years ago in London the big media company I worked for banned hotmail access during working hours (we all had official company emails), and the official who thinks FB is the ideal communication systems is obviously ignorant of Skype. Good point, they block us from looking at porn but spend their days, on our tax money, watching FB.

that the first thing i ll do with all my employees as well,

simple fact of the 8 hours i ll pay them for work they spend 4 hours on FB as combined time, whenever they reply and check for a few seconds, however its adds up insanely

facebook will be banned but they will still be able to go on porn site ..no worry

What, no FACEBOOK? Maybe they'll all quit! They just act like the children they are on it anyway. Give them a playground with a swingset.

I like the FB ban, it isn't needed to conduct business- I don't have an account I have those old fashioned friends - we speak, we visit, we call each other and e-mail silly jokes. In terms of Skype I`ve been addicted for years but out security department has issues that anyone can send a file and there is no trace.

What ever happened to Friendster is Facebook on the same path......... I wonder.

Facebook is the plague of our generation!

It never ceases to amaze me how many employers allow their employees to use their smart phones whilst on the job. Just try and get the attention of some of the staff at various counters and stores and notice how busy they are with faces glued to their mobile screens whilst they tap and slide away without even a glance upwards to see if a customer might be interested in buying something.

Maybe it is that other website that I keep getting spam from, similiar to facebook but three letters are different F---book. that they are watching.

What a nice thing! Finally...

Faecesbook (Fesse book in French) is however a useless waste of time and therapy for retired and jobless low IQ-people: a sort of dirty laundry rope hanging outside your house to the view of everybody passing by. The plague of the 21st century, acting illegally as they are sending stupid and dumb messages around your private addressbook without your consent...

They should simply ban faecesbook in all offices and service centers, government or private, where work has to be done in the first place, no chatting and no blogs... That will also be the major website visited by the students on their free tablet computer with which they are supposed to study! Our society is to be protected from such faeces...

He said his centre proposed the regulation to ban Facebook between 8.30am and noon and also between 1pm and 4.30pm to the ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Pracha Terat, who on Thursday signed the order to enforce the ban.

They'll have to plan accordingly for their crop planting in Farmville, otherwise there will be massive losses from crops maturing and then rotting during the times when they have no access to harvest.

Government workers will really have to step up their game, otherwise the potential losses of precious assets could be catastrophic for Thailand's players.

Now please pay attention. The ban being discussed is for Interior Ministry workers. Those have nothing to do with rice planting, storage, etc. That's the Ministry of Agriculture

Faecesbook (Fesse book in French) is however a useless waste of time and therapy for retired and jobless low IQ-people: a sort of dirty laundry rope hanging outside your house to the view of everybody passing by. T

Actually it is a very useful networking and marketing tool.

Hopefully, Facebook will implode shortly. Yesterday it suggested I "friend" several retail businesses in Scarborough, Yorkshire. I've never even been to bl33din' Scarborough. That's artificial intelligence for you.

Hopefully, Facebook will implode shortly. Yesterday it suggested I "friend" several retail businesses in Scarborough, Yorkshire. I've never even been to bl33din' Scarborough. That's artificial intelligence for you.

And the artificial intelligence that runs the country, don't forget them.

Wait until tomorrow for today's lunch photos.

Good move after Yingluck's gaffe in posting the wrong photograph on FB.

This is really hilarious news!

Well I am certainly no expert on the situation but it seems to me it should not matter if they are on face book or not.

The fault lies with the Thai Government that prevents up to date technology until it can figure out a way to line the pockets of certain people in the Government. I had faster internet in Canada 7 years ago.

facebook will be banned but they will still be able to go on porn site ..no worry

Yes, even in the Parliament.

I think this is just an idea they have come up with to start saving bandwidth for the 1 million security cameras that are all due to be installed at the rate of a 1000 a day as from tomorrow.

It's reasonable, 10 years ago in London the big media company I worked for banned hotmail access during working hours (we all had official company emails), and the official who thinks FB is the ideal communication systems is obviously ignorant of Skype. Good point, they block us from looking at porn but spend their days, on our tax money, watching FB.

Well let's hope they overturn this ban otherwise they might succeed in blocking all the porn sites. I wondered why I could still find loads of porn and now I know I have Facebook to thank for that.

He said the bandwidth was prepared for teleconferences, not for anything unnecessary.

Don't know if it's true that some of them join the xx hamster community now---

Edited September 9, 201213 yr by sirchai

Excellent its about time some discipline was metered out to those that we pay handsomely to run Thailand. The very fact that Members of Parliament are allowed to use personal phones or computers for personal play time when the house is in session is outrageous.

Please insert firmware into government issued laptops that blocks access to social networking sites and Porn at once. If that's not acceptable scan their online life regularly for infringements of Thai Law. Sometimes Thailand could do with a bit of 'Big Brother' surveillance of the 'insiders' rather that waste time and money for the IT police to watch over us just in case some of us look at sexy pictures.

What a nice thing! Finally...

Faecesbook (Fesse book in French) is however a useless waste of time and therapy for retired and jobless low IQ-people: a sort of dirty laundry rope hanging outside your house to the view of everybody passing by. The plague of the 21st century, acting illegally as they are sending stupid and dumb messages around your private address book without your consent...

They should simply ban faecesbook in all offices and service centers, government or private, where work has to be done in the first place, no chatting and no blogs... That will also be the major website visited by the students on their free tablet computer with which they are supposed to study! Our society is to be protected from such faeces...

As was said before "FIREWALL" but it won't happen because now people are computer literate in Thailand. As with the tablets for children, i read somewhere it will lower the childrens IQ and learning capabilities,,, good post above, i couldn't have said it better myself, faeces always.