Websites with lese majeste content to be shut down

[webfact]

Websites with lese majeste content to be shut down
The Nation

NBTC INTENDS TO ACCOMPLISH THIS BY DEC 31

BANGKOK: -- THE National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) intends to shut down all websites carrying lese majeste content by the year-end, according to its secretary-general Takorn Tantasith.

If websites violate Article 112 of the Criminal Code, the NBTC has the power to close them without seeking court approval, he said.

Takorn said yesterday the NBTC intended to close all offending websites by December 31. The police would also check IP addresses of those websites for further legal action, he added.

The watchdog held a meeting yesterday with Internet Service providers (ISP) under its licensing regime and the Royal Thai Police Special Branch. Representatives from ISPs and the relevant agencies discussed the moves to clamp down on such websites.

The NBTC instructed all the ISPs to shut down websites that contained content deemed in contempt of the monarchy and affecting the national security.

The NBTC invited Facebook to attend yesterday's meeting but the leading social-media company did not send any representative. Takorn said that despite their absence, there would be no problem in coordinating with Facebook to discuss the issue. He added that operators of social networks in Thailand should be aware of the Thai law and regulations.

Meanwhile, two people accused of defaming the monarchy in a university play pleaded guilty yesterday amid an intensifying junta crackdown on perceived royal slurs under the lese majeste law, Agence France-Presse reported.

"Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges," said the judge at the Criminal Court, adding that sentence would be passed on February 23.

Student Patiwat Saraiyaem, 23, and activist Porntip Mankong, 25, were arrested in August, nearly a year after the "The Wolf Bride" play was shown at Thammasat University.

They were each charged with one count of lese majeste linked to the performance, which marked the 40th anniversary of a pro-democracy student protest that was brutally crushed by authorities in October 1973.

Both accused were brought into court barefoot - Patiwat’s feet bound with chains - at a hearing attended by a few dozen people, including their relatives, students and an observer from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Patiwat, a final-year student at Khon Kaen University, acted in the piece - which was about a fictional monarchy - while Porntip coordinated the production as well as playing a small role.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Websites-with-lese-majeste-content-to-be-shut-down-30250946.html


-- The Nation 2014-12-30

[NeverSure]

No Thanks. No comment.

[englishoak]

See how the NBTC meeting with facebook goes then we shall see how far the LM censorship is able to go. .

Edited December 29, 2014 by englishoak

[Bluespunk]

"Both accused were brought into court barefoot - Patiwats feet bound with chains "

I'll bet the UN human rights commission observer loved that.

[BSJ]

"Both accused were brought into court barefoot - Patiwat’s feet bound with chains" Seems like it's standard practice here. When the wife was in hospital I saw prisoners at the hospital with handcuffs and chains. None had any cuts on their feet so I am guessing back at the jail they are taken off.

[chooka]

Didn't Google laugh in thier faces when they demanded Google shut down about 300 sites where people around the world where discussing Thailand and the dear leader?

[AyG]

The other newspaper reports this rather differently, saying in effect that ISPs now have the authority and responsibility to block websites on their own initiative. No need for instruction from the authorities. No need for a court order.

The effect is going to be that ISPs are going to block even marginally dubious sites for fear of reprisals from the authorities. We're going to be seeing a lot more green screens in the future, I fear.

[cdk]

"Both accused were brought into court barefoot - Patiwats feet bound with chains "

I'll bet the UN human rights commission observer loved that.

Not uncommon in Thailand irregardless of the charges faced.

[cdk]

Didn't Google laugh in thier faces when they demanded Google shut down about 300 sites where people around the world where discussing Thailand and the dear leader?

No.

[greenchair]

Hard to believe that agencies paid by the taxpayer, would take two bright young people and put them in chains. There they were at university studying, looking forward to a bright future. Their lives will never be right after this. They have teachers and professors who are supposed to take care of them and guide them. 23 and 25 years old in chains for acting in a school play. Shocking to say the least.

[kotsak]

The other newspaper reports this rather differently, saying in effect that ISPs now have the authority and responsibility to block websites on their own initiative. No need for instruction from the authorities. No need for a court order.

The effect is going to be that ISPs are going to block even marginally dubious sites for fear of reprisals from the authorities. We're going to be seeing a lot more green screens in the future, I fear.

That's the marvel of the system.. Self-censorship due to the fear of being brushed with the same brush.

[Tatsujin]

That long-term planning (the big picture I keep mentioning) is kicking into high gear now ... we should expect a lot of internet problems in the near future when they start blocking whole swathes of IP addresses willy-nilly to take down just one site.

[Bluespunk]

"Both accused were brought into court barefoot - Patiwats feet bound with chains "

I'll bet the UN human rights commission observer loved that.

Not uncommon in Thailand irregardless of the charges faced.

And how does that make it any less wrong?

[cloudhopper]

Getting more totalitarian here by the day.

[nisakiman]

The LM law gives The-Powers-That-Be carte blanche for complete political repression. That's why this anachronistic piece of legislation is so enthusiastically defended by those who would use it to secure their positions of power. It engenders a level of self-censorship unknown in most demcratic countries.

[Snig27]

The irony in all this is that it shows a dinosaur attitude stuck in an ugly bygone era. As much as they want North Korea styled censorship - and make no mistake they do - unless they switch off the internet this is completely uncontrollable in 2014.

There seems to be a rising paranoia amongst those that only hold power because they have tanks and guns, this simply makes their position weaker. Dissent does not disappear because you try to stop people talking, as countless similar (eventually failed) regimes the world over have found. Quite the opposite.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Snig27

[FangFerang]

Google and Facebook will never consent to adhering to a law that is rather vague and very harsh. In related news, the CDC is pushing for an appointed PM, and a further consolidation of power. It's not just Thailand, it is also happening in almost every country.

The battle for resources abroad begins at home.

[kotsak]

The irony in all this is that it shows a dinosaur attitude stuck in an ugly bygone era. As much as they want North Korea styled censorship - and make no mistake they do - unless they switch off the internet this is completely uncontrollable in 2014.

There seems to be a rising paranoia amongst those that only hold power because they have tanks and guns, this simply makes their position weaker. Dissent does not disappear because you try to stop people talking, as countless similar (eventually failed) regimes the world over have found. Quite the opposite.

You may kill the idealist but you cannot kill the idea..

[HUAHIN62]

They took down The Mail online on TOT just after the coup and never put it back up again, but it works on AIS. Which is a preview of whats going to happen in future. All the coup cheerleaders take note this is only the start, but then again I don't expect any of them to be around when the som tam hits the fan. In the last weeks Reuters, Yahoo and BBC ran articles that could judged to be anti section 112, will they take all of them down ? Yes they will because they are extremist/fanaticals that will rather ruin the country than to be defeated.

[nithisa78]

Good. Let them express themselves elsewhere. Like the I'm empty and bewildered web site. They can search it from their self created hell. It won't be far from where they already are.

Happy New Year

[nithisa78]

They took down The Mail online on TOT just after the coup and never put it back up again, but it works on AIS. Which is a preview of whats going to happen in future. All the coup cheerleaders take note this is only the start, but then again I don't expect any of them to be around when the som tam hits the fan. In the last weeks Reuters, Yahoo and BBC ran articles that could judged to be anti section 112, will they take all of them down ? Yes they will because they are extremist/fanaticals that will rather ruin the country than to be defeated.

You have sat and spoke with these people? Or is this just what you have read. Or you've led so many countries to a better world. Who could know better than you.

get a life

[ozyjon]

Sorry, tried to figure this story out but i speak and read / write English,

lese majeste, i no comprendo, mai khao jai. speak engrish please.

[binjalin]

"Both accused were brought into court barefoot - Patiwats feet bound with chains "

I'll bet the UN human rights commission observer loved that.

to wonder if there was one tis but a distant dream

[useronthenet]

Censorship is comfirmation that a country is still not ready to embrace freedom of speech, and hence will not be taken seriously by those that do. Besides, it is rather futile, you cannot block or control the internet. Most in the international arena are not impressed by the actions of this country, and Thailand is already on a short leash.

[zaphod reborn]

Didn't Google laugh in thier faces when they demanded Google shut down about 300 sites where people around the world where discussing Thailand and the dear leader?

No.

Yes they did. MICT requested a global takedown, and Google denied the takedown request because it was an overreach. MICT is able to effectuate the takedown within Thailand, the only place where the content is potentially criminal.

[maidee]

thai have authority to shut down websites across the world ?

i guess they mean, websites registred in thailand

don't see them enforce shutdown of websites outside thailand, specially if owners are outside of thailand

[tdog]

thai have authority to shut down websites across the world ?

i guess they mean, websites registred in thailand

don't see them enforce shutdown of websites outside thailand, specially if owners are outside of thailand

They have the authority to force Internet Service Providers to block websites, doesn't matter where they are hosted. The same way they do with porn sites.

[ExPratt]

I believe all prisoners where leg irons for a set period after sentencing , few months I think

This is going backwards isn't it, how to write a democratic, free and fair constitution using archaic laws as the foundation

[Thailand]

Proxy servers get around all of this and there are many free ones.

The Chinese were quick to pick it up when they tried to block sites there.

[samsensam]

tried to comment but it was redacted.