From WTF to LOL , Internet reacts to plan to track foreign nationals

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From WTF to LOL , Internet reacts to plan to track foreign nationals 

By Khaosod English -

 

BANGKOK — Telecommunication regulators signed off yesterday on a plan to track all foreigners in the kingdom using location-tracking SIM cards, and extraordinary ambition that left the internet searing and seething.

 

Online communities vented a mix of outrage, disbelief and eye-rolling after we reported the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission was serious about a plan mandating all non-Thais use the new, special SIM cards.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/culture/net/2016/08/10/wtf-lol-internet-reacts-plan-track-foreign-nationals/

 

-- Khaosod English 2016-08-10

[Winniedapu]

"searing and seething"?

 

Mostly laughing as far as I could tell...

 

Another Thai government initiative = howls of laughter from the gallery.

 

Perfectly normal.

 

Winnie

[seajae]

definitely shows the lack of intelligence that thai govt officials have when they come up with crap like this, it is totally laughable if they think they will be able to actually use it as intended, clowns at best.

[Aachen]

Well. If your SIM Card is registered (and it has to be), then there is nothing like a "special tracking SIM card". The customer is already marked as falang, cause he did register with his passport and not Thai ID card.

 

[nev]

I am all for it, all us oldies with Alzheimer's can be rounded up, after last orders of course and driven home.

[manfredtillmann]

good, will help me remember where i have been last night...

[smedly]

must admit I don't get it

 

Foreign sims are already registered so they can do this already if they wanted too using cell towers to a rough location.....but

 

If they think they are going to somehow force the GPS on my phone to turn on then they are going to fail, that is simply never going to work and apart from anything else trying to do such a thing will run a battery down very quickly indeed 

[PREM-R]

From the BBC report on this

 

"While the proposal has been approved by the NBTC, Secretary General Takorn Tantasith said the organisation would consult with police, tourism authorities and tour operators before deciding whether to implement it.

He added that foreigners working in Thailand would not be required to use the special Sim cards, although some local reports have quoted him saying they would."

[ratcatcher]

The un-knotting of knickers belonging to many TVF members can now begin.

The panic is now over until the next boneheaded announcement from the men at The Ministry of Silly Ideas..

[Alive]

This regime is all about control. It will get worse as without more and more control they will fall apart. 

[Kerryd]

Hmmm, tracking seems to indicate that my "sim" has been spending far too much time at certain establishments. Must be some kind of interference at that location as the signal keeps bouncing up and down 8 inches (OK, I lied, 9 inches) at a time for hours at a time ! 

 

I won't even bother going into the whole "identity theft" and security issues that will come as a result of this. Just think about a few of the news articles in the not too distant past.

Bank account drained by thief who used someone's banking information to get a duplicate SIM card that was then used to get access to that persons online banking info.

Foreigner Information Form (including passport and banking details, address, telephone #, email address, etc).

Immigration database leaked when hackers learned programmer was using "123456" as his password.

 

Good thing I've got no assets and no money in the bank to begin with !! 

[ClutchClark]

so the headline says that tourists will be tracked and alot of TV appear to think that is terrible.

 

So can anyone help me out with this topic.

 

1) Can the location of a cell phone not currently be found in Thailand through triangulation of cell towers?

 

2) How does this new proposed system differ from any existing system?

 

3) What technology does this proposed system use? Does it send coordinates from a phones onboard GPS ?

 

4) Why is it bad for someone in emergency services to know my location?

 

Thanks

 

 

[Thaddeus]

6 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

The un-knotting of knickers belonging to many TVF members can now begin.

The panic is now over until the next boneheaded announcement from the men at The Ministry of Silly Ideas..

 

I've got a silly ideas predictor app on my phone..... it says "tomorrow"

[ClutchClark]

19 minutes ago, smedly said:

must admit I don't get it

 

Foreign sims are already registered so they can do this already if they wanted too using cell towers to a rough location.....but

 

If they think they are going to somehow force the GPS on my phone to turn on then they are going to fail, that is simply never going to work and apart from anything else trying to do such a thing will run a battery down very quickly indeed 

 

OK...once again Smedley is a thinking man who is not prone to emotions clouding common sense.

 

Why would accessing your onboard GPS fail?

 

 

Edited August 10, 2016 by ClutchClark

[Winniedapu]

8 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

The un-knotting of knickers belonging to many TVF members can now begin.

The panic is now over until the next boneheaded announcement from the men at The Ministry of Silly Ideas..

 

I'd like to think so but can't. So many things have been run up the flag pole, thought better of and then implemented anyway. This isn't Europe where in general, things are thought through before press conferences. This is Thailand, where they aren't.

 

Some bright spark thought this up. Precedent suggests it will happen the same way SIM card registration did.

 

One thing worries me about AIS - I can't speak for the rest, but AIS have been cancelling SIM cards just 45 days after they run out of validity time. No notification to the owners of course, that's not the Thai way. No refund of existing credit either if they can help it... it almost seems like a clearing of the decks prior to issuing quite a lot more SIM cards. Colour me a cynic.

 

Winnie

 

 

[Winniedapu]

13 minutes ago, PREM-R said:

From the BBC report on this

 

"While the proposal has been approved by the NBTC, Secretary General Takorn Tantasith said the organisation would consult with police, tourism authorities and tour operators before deciding whether to implement it.

He added that foreigners working in Thailand would not be required to use the special Sim cards, although some local reports have quoted him saying they would."

 

The Thai way is to issue contradictory statements until the whole thing is a cloud of smoke and everybody is confused and doesn't know which way is up, then do what they first thought of anyway.

 

It's a good plan. Works with Thais.

 

Winnie

[ClutchClark]

1 minute ago, Winniedapu said:

 

I'd like to think so but can't. So many things have been run up the flag pole, thought better of and then implemented anyway. This isn't Europe where in general, things are thought through before press conferences. This is Thailand, where they aren't.

 

Some bright spark thought this up. Precedent suggests it will happen the same way SIM card registration did.

 

One thing worries me about AIS - I can't speak for the rest, but AIS have been cancelling SIM cards just 45 days after they run out of validity time. No notification to the owners of course, that's not the Thai way. No refund of existing credit either if they can help it... it almost seems like a clearing of the decks prior to issuing quite a lot more SIM cards. Colour me a cynic.

 

Winnie

 

 

 

I was just gone for seversl months with no balace remaining and my SIM worked great upon arrival. I just topped up at the little 7-11 in lower level of airport.

[ratcatcher]

2 minutes ago, Winniedapu said:

 

I'd like to think so but can't. So many things have been run up the flag pole, thought better of and then implemented anyway. This isn't Europe where in general, things are thought through before press conferences. This is Thailand, where they aren't.

 

Some bright spark thought this up. Precedent suggests it will happen the same way SIM card registration did.

 

One thing worries me about AIS - I can't speak for the rest, but AIS have been cancelling SIM cards just 45 days after they run out of validity time. No notification to the owners of course, that's not the Thai way. No refund of existing credit either if they can help it... it almost seems like a clearing of the decks prior to issuing quite a lot more SIM cards. Colour me a cynic.

 

Winnie

 

 

[ratcatcher]

[MissAndry]

Whenever I start to wonder 'why would a Thai do this?' I try to imagine our leader, Prayut Chanocha, as the most forward thinking and intellectual person in the country, after all he is top man. Then everything that happens around me instantly becomes explicable.  

Edited August 10, 2016 by MissAndry
typo

[Winniedapu]

1 minute ago, ClutchClark said:

 

I was just gone for seversl months with no balace remaining and my SIM worked great upon arrival. I just topped up at the little 7-11 in lower level of airport.

 

 

I believe you. Everything Thais plan and execute ends up as a bit of a bugger's muddle. Someone told them that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds and they thought - well, hell, our minds are pretty small...

 

Couldn't even get that right. Proof of the pudding really.

 

Essential part of 'Thainess'.

[seajae]

some interesting things being raised here,  my phone is only for calls, messages and the ocassional pic plus internet if I dont have access to a computer, I have only ever had my GPS on my phone enabled 2 times in the last couple of years when we were not sure of the right way to go, I never have it on otherwise as it drains the battery too fast. From what they are saying the new sim will have the GPS turned on all the time and cannot be turned off, this presents a problem for those that are not able to charge their phones as needed, an emergency phone call is more important for the owner than the thai govt knowing where you are at any given time so I know I will simply refuse to have one in my phone, as others have said, if I have to I will get my wife to get a new sim for me, I already have my sim cards for outside Thailand anyway

 

[chainarong]

I think the intention is the issue of Farang  special Sims,  so they will channel into one network , if this works you will have then have to register a special network for the internet , means your freedom has been compromised and you are all suspects in helping the students over throw  the Junta , U all should be ashamed of yourselves............................................

[ClutchClark]

7 minutes ago, seajae said:

some interesting things being raised here,  my phone is only for calls, messages and the ocassional pic plus internet if I dont have access to a computer, I have only ever had my GPS on my phone enabled 2 times in the last couple of years when we were not sure of the right way to go, I never have it on otherwise as it drains the battery too fast. From what they are saying the new sim will have the GPS turned on all the time and cannot be turned off, this presents a problem for those that are not able to charge their phones as needed, an emergency phone call is more important for the owner than the thai govt knowing where you are at any given time so I know I will simply refuse to have one in my phone, as others have said, if I have to I will get my wife to get a new sim for me, I already have my sim cards for outside Thailand anyway

 

 

They do not intend to actively track millions of phones at all times.

 

They intend to be able to track a specific phone if it is warranted.

 

Alot of people getting really freaked out here for no reason.

[Sakeopete]

I can see it now the long immigration lines taking hours to sell SIM cards to unsuspecting arrivals. What tourist is going to take out their home country  SIM and lose contact with family and friends to put in Thai SIM. Will people be required to buy two phones? Will the police start going to tourist destinations stopping people to see if they are using their SIM? Maybe they will bang up tourist who let their phone battery die. LOL

[ClutchClark]

2 minutes ago, Sakeopete said:

I can see it now the long immigration lines taking hours to sell SIM cards to unsuspecting arrivals. What tourist is going to take out their home country  SIM and lose contact with family and friends to put in Thai SIM. Will people be required to buy two phones? Will the police start going to tourist destinations stopping people to see if they are using their SIM? Maybe they will bang up tourist who let their phone battery die. LOL

 

Whoa...breathe dude breathe.

 

the article clearly states that foreign SIM cards will still be allowed.

 

You're going to be OK.

 

You almost gave me a heart attack just watching you almost have a heart attack.

[NCC1701A]

why not insert the SIM with a explosive charge directly into your nasal cavity like in Mission Impossible III?

 

That way the Thai police can set off the charge and blow your head apart anytime they want.

 

 

[smedly]

31 minutes ago, ClutchClark said:

 

OK...once again Smedley is a thinking man who is not prone to emotions clouding common sense.

 

Why would accessing your onboard GPS fail?

 

 

because I would disable it......................turn it off

[Gweiloman]

Let's see.

 

First the Foreigner National Form when doing 90 day reporting etc

Now, the Foreigner Tracking sim card.

 

Can hardly wait for what's next

[Sakeopete]

10 minutes ago, ClutchClark said:

 

Whoa...breathe dude breathe.

 

the article clearly states that foreign SIM cards will still be allowed.

 

You're going to be OK.

 

You almost gave me a heart attack just watching you almost have a heart attack.

I'm having a laugh not a heart attack besides I live in Thailand and wouldn't need it anyways. Unless people have dual SIM capable phones how will they manage  to use the special Thai SIM and their home country SIM?

Edited August 10, 2016 by Sakeopete