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

[Charlie1]

The new Thai sim card for foreigners comes with this convenient holster.

[Sakeopete]

Maybe when the SIM idea fails new arrivals will be required to bend over and have RFID microchip tracking device inserted in their rectums (faster than implanting it under the skin).

[ClutchClark]

23 minutes ago, smedly said:

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

 

The SIM has the functionality to override that.

 

You can turn off GPS location services for Apps but the hardware is still back-door accessible.

 

They are not going to constantly track millions of phones locations 24/7.

 

they are going to identify someone they are searching for and the phone company is going to access GPS coords and provide it to authorities...no different than cell tower tracking is utilized now but with greater accuracy.

 

Its also going to be a positive for missing persons. 

[halloween]

44 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

" What tourist is going to take out their home country  SIM and lose contact with family and friends to put in Thai SIM "

 

Anybody with any sense. Local SIM and using Thai telecoms is far cheaper if you are here for more than a few days. A multi-recipient SMS can inform anybody YOU want to contact you while o/s. 

[MissAndry]

3 minutes ago, halloween said:

Anybody with any sense. Local SIM and using Thai telecoms is far cheaper if you are here for more than a few days. A multi-recipient SMS can inform anybody YOU want to contact you while o/s. 

 

Using the internet and 'messenger' is the cheapest and easiest way to call everyone, no matter what their country. Video, voice or just typing works perfectly well all the time.

 

I use a Thai SIM + monthly internet (200bht for 1.5GB for 30 days) and it's great.

Edited August 10, 2016 by MissAndry

[Winniedapu]

56 minutes ago, ClutchClark said:

 

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.

 

Oops. you missed a bit...

 

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

 

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

 

There. That's better.

 

Winnie

 

[halloween]

3 minutes ago, MissAndry said:

 

Using the internet and 'messenger' is the cheapest and easiest way to call everyone, no matter what their country. Video, voice or just typing works perfectly well all the time.

 

I use a Thai SIM + monthly internet (200bht for 1.5GB for 30 days) and it's great.

I have DTAC and get 4.5Gb for B399/m, unlimited at slower speed after that.

[Sakeopete]

Buying local SIM is fine for regular visitors and expats but many first time visitors especially non-English speaking visitors may not want to go through the trouble of getting another SIM. Not everyone is tech savvy especially pensioners who visit. The low cost Chinese tourists may not like the extra costs and it will be a pain for the tour companies.

[Bluespunk]

I thought we weren't allowed to use shorthand such as <deleted> as in this headline. 

 

Edit: ah I see we aren't. 

Edited August 10, 2016 by Bluespunk

[clockman]

They could not run a pissup, in a brewery.

[Bluespunk]

6 minutes ago, clockman said:

They could not run a pissup, in a brewery.

Though if they did, it might make it easier to find out where a large number of a certain type of tourist are. 

[opouri]

What has it got to do with the NBTC? I would of thought that if the Police think they need more ways of tracking people they would be the ones to ask for ways to keep track of tourists and all us happily married trouble makers.

[smedly]

look there are some very unsavory people that come too Thailand - nothing new in that

 

Most of the people that have broken the law outside Thailand and come here to escape and hide we see all the time - 99% of them are hiding and on overstay

 

Also a fair amount of people caught breaking the law in Thailand and getting caught are generally also on overstay - we see that all the time. (and I posted this on TVF about 5 years ago) .......overstay generally equates to criminal in one way or another - either in Thailand or in country of origin - This is not an opinion it is a fact - and when I say in Thailand it could be anything from working illegally or involved in the sale of drugs.

 

This whole sim thing is not going to change that one bit- simply because it is so easy to get round it, therefore it is a total waste of money and time......................nonsense

 

 

If Thai authorities really want to know were people are then they need to make the penalties for not reporting a foreigner staying resident in a house hotel condo etc etc not worth taking the risk, increase the penalties to long jail terms and huge fines for those not reporting, there is no doubt that they have a very lengthy list of people that have arrived in Thailand and never left, some of those will be due too people passing away but there are probably a lot of people who are hiding and engaged in serious criminal behavior either here or before they entered Thailand - a sim card will not address the problem

 

What they need is a dedicated active task force tracking people down - they will be very busy 

[smedly]

from what I have seen there are a few indian places around pattaya that are supposed to be selling food and they are doing anything but, a lot of young indian guys running around these places that are not selling food and yet they seem to be extremely busy doing something - coming and going and no food package in sight, I suspect they are selling drugs not food and a lot of them are well under the age of 50 so there is no way they can stay long term legally, not going to mention here where  I have seen this activity but it is very obvious to a trained eye

 

In Thailand right now if I wanted to collar a few drug players overstayers etc  I would be looking at small indian restaurants that have lots of young people hanging around seemingly very active but not selling food

[Wollont]

Unfortunately, there's a good chance they will indeed introduce some legislation like this. Incompetent clowns, after they have cheated their way into the real power, do NOT back down and do NOT admit any slightest mistakes. Proven many times in my country (Russia). Triple that if they're military. Quadruple if there's commercial interest (like here).

Edited August 10, 2016 by Wollont

[bkkcanuck8]

9 hours ago, ClutchClark said:

 

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.

The privacy thing aside, who do you think is going to fund this project.... yep the people that want a SIM which will now cost 1,000 baht and 30 baht / minute voice, and no internet packages - just data at a higher cost.  At least that is my bet based on the withdrawal fee at ATMs etc., the double pricing at national parks ... they will just calculate the highest price paid in western countries and convert the price into baht ... no competition, no alternative.

[Wollont]

9 hours ago, ClutchClark said:

 

The SIM has the functionality to override that.

 

You can turn off GPS location services for Apps but the hardware is still back-door accessible.

 

They are not going to constantly track millions of phones locations 24/7.

 

they are going to identify someone they are searching for and the phone company is going to access GPS coords and provide it to authorities...no different than cell tower tracking is utilized now but with greater accuracy.

 

Its also going to be a positive for missing persons. 

 

Nope, they indeed mean they want to track millions of phones 24/7. The scheme you described already works, worldwide, from the very moment mobile phones were introduced. Same with GPS, they can (and will) track your GPS-enabled phone if they are searching for you.
Now, they want to track everyone, not just criminals/missing people.

 

P.S. Regarding GPS actually, it's not really trivial to do anything non-standard with it. Satellites don't belong to Thailand and phone manufacturers don't belong to Thailand. Unless they force you to buy and happily use special Thai *phones*, not just sim cards. It's unrealistic, but this fact won't stop them. (it rarely does).

Edited August 10, 2016 by Wollont

[Thechook]

Australia

 

http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/visitor-tracker-project-reveals-tourism-myths/news-story/08ebe13a7cbd9ce168c959d074e3ed17

[DrTuner]

12 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

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.

Connect it to the tracking GPS phone running the malware immigration forcefully installed at arrival, and set to detonate if the GPS signal is lost. No more pesky furriners trying to hide their location from friendly big bro.

[Kerryd]

12 hours 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.

 

There are different types of SIMs. My first SIMs had a "validity" time that was in no relation to the amount of credit I had. I used to have to pump up the credits just before leaving for work and the day I got back (usually 3 months give or take a week or two) I'd have to scramble to put more credits into it so it would keep working. A couple of times I failed. One time I had 3,000 baht credit and it wouldn't let me add any more. When I got back to Thailand, the number had been cancelled any ways.

 

I found out about the "year" SIM after that. It had a validity of a year and whenever I added credit it would extend that period. I've had that SIM for 10 or 11 years now. I added some credits last May and my SIM is now valid until May 2017.

[JAG]

10 hours ago, opouri said:

What has it got to do with the NBTC? I would of thought that if the Police think they need more ways of tracking people they would be the ones to ask for ways to keep track of tourists and all us happily married trouble makers.

The head honcho of the NBTC senses an opportunity to 1: improve his standing with the powers that be, 2: a "wise investment" opportunity.

[yellowboat]

It just shows a controlling, xenophobic, totalitarian mindset.  It is why the country is not progressing and it never will.  

 

When you compare the lady next door who was locked up for so many years, only to prevail later, Thailand just falls woefully short.

[chrisinth]

14 hours ago, ClutchClark said:

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

 

 

 

If the reason given was that the person could be traced in an emergency, that would be OK.

 

But of course, it wasn't the reason given. Someone has decided that the new sims would be used for cases of overstay and follow-up to crimes committed by foreigners.

 

As for your point 1) above, yes it is of course possible to trace a number through triangulation (and of course, other applications on the smart phone) as long as you know the number.

 

Anyway, IMO, this will be a totally ineffective project as there are too many flaws in the thinking of the entire scheme and if the offending (targeted) person needed to use a mobile, too many different ways for them to do it without them using the allocated sim.

 

Pipe dreams come to mind.............................

[shavedPotter]

This is clearly one of those Thai things that has not been thought out to conclusion. There are so many other comments here that simply point to common sense and the lack of it. I think it is fair to assume the next forward move on this topic will involve a curve of at least 180 degrees once they think past the second step of the idea.

[gk10002000]

Well, so a tourist comes in with their own IPhone, android, blackberry or whatever.  Replace the SIM?  The original SIM has all the original contact info and numbers, so now those would not be available since you put the new SIM in?  Some devices and plans just don't let you replace and use other SIMS.  I still use and plan to keep using my old fashioned flip top phone that does NOT have GPS, does not have wifi or any internet or Bluetooth capability and I don't have any sort of data plan that connects to the internet.  Just what exactly do they think is going to work? 

[peebee2]

Then, there is the question of enforcement. How will the authorities know if every foreigner is using the authoorised SIM card? They could only know if they had the right to inspect the mobile 'phone of each farang. But, what if the foreigner denied having a mobile at all? There is no value in the proposed law unless it is accompanied by a right to stop and search.

 

So, the police can stop and search every foreigner? I don't think so. 

[Srikcir]

15 hours ago, ClutchClark said:

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

But likely without having to get a warrant to do so as the authorities (ie., police, military, NBTC, etc.) would already have direct access to the phone movements. This would remove privacy safeguards.

[BlueSkyCowboy]

All they have to do is ask my wife. She always knows where a GF lives

[whatproblem]

They can't get the Internet to work properly here 

[Bangkok Barry]

19 hours ago, Aachen said:

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.

 

 

Or someone, such as his wife, used her ID to purchase his Sim card for him. Then what?