Expats could be exempt from SIM card tracking

[webfact]

Expats could be exempt from SIM card tracking

By Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter -

 

Photo: Jorge Gonzalez / Flickr

 

BANGKOK — A government regulator Wednesday played down the certainty of tracking all foreigners by phone SIM cards after the plan was met with concern and ridicule.

 

Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission said the plan approved Tuesday requiring foreigners use SIM cards which report their locations would not move forward without input from the public – including foreign residents.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2016/08/10/expats-exempt-sim-card-tracking/

 

-- Khaosod English 2016-08-11

[Somtamnication]

"would not move forward without input from the public – including foreign residents. "  

[Gecko123]

I am definitely not in favor of this being done on a mandatory basis for either expats or tourists. It's just way too intrusive into personal privacy.

 

However, on a voluntary basis, I can envision some scenarios where a tracking device on a cell phone could be beneficial, i.e., someone who was at risk for dementia or other health problems which might incapacitate them, someone concerned that their life safety, or someone who lived or traveled in remote areas. 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2016 by Gecko123

[NongKhaiKid]

The BBC is doing a simple piece on this saying the plan is for foreign tourists and is claimed as a crime prevention measure,  no mention of national security as in the original blurb here or resident expats.   It's also denied by LoS as being an invasion of privacy.

 

Is this consultation period a way of getting out of this without losing face,  the authors of the plan have had their 15 mins of infamy but if the whole thing is impossible,  unworkable etc it will have to be spun as being cancelled for reasons that don't provide for even more ridicule.

 

Personally I would never take part in any public discussion on this or any other govt issue so perhaps we have to hope our respective embassies will present the case for us.

[cfhebertjr]

55 minutes ago, NongKhaiKid said:

"Personally I would never take part in any public discussion on this or any other govt issue so perhaps we have to hope our respective embassies will present the case for us."

 

You just did!

 

[NongKhaiKid]

10 minutes ago, cfhebertjr said:

 

Double post

Edited August 10, 2016 by NongKhaiKid

[NongKhaiKid]

Just now, NongKhaiKid said:

Are you incapable of seeing I meant a govt organised public forum  ?

I sometimes have my doubts about the security of the forum but are you now suggesting we should all stop posting  ?

 

[cfhebertjr]

I am incapable of many things but quite capable with my command of the English language. All your words...not mine. This is a public forum...smh 

 

Maybe you should stop making a fool of yourself.

 

Edited August 11, 2016 by cfhebertjr

[arrowsdawdle]

International news is reporting that Thailand has already backtracked on the SIM tracking scheme for foreign residents in Thailand. TV seems a bit behind.

Edited August 11, 2016 by arrowsdawdle

[yellowboat]

The only thing the current and future Military controlled governments worries about is foreign opinion.  It is something that they cannot control, but it controls them. 

 

They are really just shameless children; Thai government and the elites. 

[canopy]

Thailand is not a rich country. It is not clear why it is so important to create a bureaucracy that spends money trying to "help" foreigners by shackling them with something they don't want and does nothing for the Thai people that are in more desperate need of their money spent in constructive ways.

 

Thai's misusing technology is a major fault seen everywhere; just add this one in there with every village loud speaker system and all the needless poisoning done everywhere to name a few.

 

[yankee99]

I am sure its possible to track a phone in Thailand but the technology to track 1000s is most likely not here yet

[hgma]

What the heck

Sim in Phone...i got six...leave one at home.....no problem!

Privacy problem solved.

[smedly]

53 minutes ago, cfhebertjr said:

I am incapable of many things but quite capable with my command of the English language. All your words...not mine. This is a public forum...smh 

 

Maybe you should stop making a fool of yourself.

 

impossible lol

[koolkarl]

What about tracking all the muslims in Thailand?  

Far more of a threat than a 70 year old foreigner drinking  a beer in a bar.

[NongKhaiKid]

1 minute ago, smedly said:

impossible lol

So you want me to stop trying to emulate you and leave you in pole position  ?

[Gydur]

Why don`t they chip us?

[soalbundy]

33 minutes ago, yankee99 said:

I am sure its possible to track a phone in Thailand but the technology to track 1000s is most likely not here yet

I think the unworkable idea was not to track thousands but only a few who are either wanted for crimes or who have gone missing. If you are wanted for crimes you wont use the sim and if you have gone missing your iphone will have gone missing somewhere else.

[soalbundy]

17 minutes ago, koolkarl said:

What about tracking all the muslims in Thailand?  

Far more of a threat than a 70 year old foreigner drinking  a beer in a bar.

There are a lot in the South i hear

[Toknarok]

        I'm somewhat confused. they state that this exercise is to be able to trace all foreigners living in Thailand. We automatically tend to equate that with farangs and other expats living here  whether they be retirees or working. What about the millions of Burmese and Cambodians living and working here? I have no idea what the percentage of mobile phone ownership is by them but I should imagine that it's quite high. Would the Thai authorities have the technology to be able to track millions of mobiles, not just a few hundred thousand owned by farangs and the like.

[gk10002000]

how in the world would this work?  Somebody, tourist or expat have their own Iphone or other device some of which have SIMs and data plans, etc. that you can't just swap out.  Anybody have any experience with what they keep allegedly saying Malaysia has done?

[English 1]

Just another idea which has been floated too get opinion of it.

This happens a lot and the ideas vanish like ....hot air!

[aidon]

You forget that a Telco can track where you are anyway ...

[smedly]

9 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

how in the world would this work?  Somebody, tourist or expat have their own Iphone or other device some of which have SIMs and data plans, etc. that you can't just swap out.  Anybody have any experience with what they keep allegedly saying Malaysia has done?

 

as I have said a few times recently on TVF, these people seem to just announce this stuff no matter how stupid it is, I believe the real reason behind this is (as another poster previously mentioned) to try and introduce a different tariff  for foreigners and again something that is totally unworkable

[daveAustin]

As before, it's a fanciful nonstarter. But if they're worried about a relatively few foreign bad eggs, then let the bleedin police do their job and fish them out... ie, stop inconveniencing and badgering the good, innocent folk.

[robblok]

23 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I think the unworkable idea was not to track thousands but only a few who are either wanted for crimes or who have gone missing. If you are wanted for crimes you wont use the sim and if you have gone missing your iphone will have gone missing somewhere else.

 

Thais already can be tracked because they are registered. Now they want to track foreigners too. I don't really mind i think they will only track you once your on a list doing it permanent is something that just cant be done. 

 

Back in the real world its the same phones of criminals will be tracked so I don't really see a problem. The problem that I have is that I already have a number (not on my name as its hard to get post pay as a foreigner). I have no problem telling them that number so they can track me if they are looking for me. (at that point i could ditch the sim anyway). Most criminals already use burner phones why would it be different here.

[arithai12]

I don't understand the fuss. Isn't this exactly what the NSA has been doing for years already in the US, or what Apple and Google and Facebook already do?

 

[robblok]

1 minute ago, arithai12 said:

I don't understand the fuss. Isn't this exactly what the NSA has been doing for years already in the US, or what Apple and Google and Facebook already do?

 

 

Yes its exactly that nothing new actually. They just want tourist sims to be registered just like the Thai sims so they can track them once they need it. Its not like there will be a system up and running with all the tourists and their names real time where they are. Just does not work like that.

[tlcwaterfall]

32 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I think the unworkable idea was not to track thousands but only a few who are either wanted for crimes or who have gone missing. If you are wanted for crimes you wont use the sim and if you have gone missing your iphone will have gone missing somewhere else.

My Iphone went in to the rubbish bin several years ago.

 

My Android phone is still with me and is much better.

[klauskunkel]

My idea for this sim card:

whenever a border officer is bribed by a foreigner to enter Thailand, that officer should hand the sim card over to the foreigner with clear instructions to it's exclusive use. New slogan: Bad Boys In And Then Track Them If They Use The Sim Provided By Our Corrupt Officer. Hmm, not a good slogan, not catchy at all.