The 5 Worst Places To Be An Internet User In Southeast Asia, Thailand far worst than Cambodia

[geovalin]

Erin Hale ,  

Contributor

I cover the internet in Southeast Asia.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

 

The power of the internet has been in the spotlight in the last few weeks thanks to the U.S. election – but while American netizens have to contend with fake news and annoying status updates, in many parts of the world just sharing an opinion can end in jail time (or worse). Freedom House, a U.S.-based NGO/research organization, released their annual Freedom of the Net report last week, and overall the results were not good.

Convicted Vietnamese blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (C) stands next to his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy (R) at a court in Hanoi on September 22, 2016, to appeal his five year-sentence for disseminating anti-government articles on his wildly popular website ‘Ba Sam’. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Internet freedom has declined around the world for the sixth year in a row thanks to censorship... read more in the link

 

#5 Cambodia: As a reporter based in Cambodia, I can attest that it’s a country seemingly very skilled at what could be called “low-grade repression” – using tactics that are just enough to get the message across to the populace without attracting a massive amount of attention from the foreign media/international NGOs. Case in point are Cambodia’s prosecution of Facebook users, such as 26-year old Kong Raya, who received an 18-month prison sentence for calling for a “color revolution in order to change the cheap regime running Cambodian society.” English-language content, however, seems to mostly fly below the government’s radar, including a popular/satirical Twitter account about Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ever-critical newspaper The Cambodia Daily. It is also noteworthy that getting arrested in Cambodia can lead to months of pre-trial detention and then a trial before a court that has not hesitated to convict government opponents without evidence and in absentia. Grade: Partly free.

 

A Cambodian man in Phnom Penh browses through his smartphone displaying photos of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on the leader’s Facebook page. With its regular live broadcasts, routine tirades and daily – often curiously intimate –photo posts, the Facebook page of Cambodian strongman Hun Sen has won a remarkable five million fans. (TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images)

#4 Indonesia: read more in the link Grade: Partly Free. 

Recommended by Forbes

 

#3 Malaysia: read more in the link Grade: partly free 

 

#2/#1 Thailand and Vietnam: Freedom House gave Thailand a slightly higher grade than Vietnam, but as the report seems to have been written earlier in the year and did not take into account the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13 and the controversy surrounding his heir, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. By writing about the controversy – and thus acknowledging its very existence – this blog post could theoretically get censored in Thailand thanks to its tough lèse-majesté laws that make it illegal to criticize the monarchy. The same laws have led to some contorted reporting by even international news agencies, who could only report the former king was in his “twilight years of his reign” and not that he was dying. Tweeting, Facebook posts, and personal messages critical of the military government can also all end in detention and jail time. The same is true for satire, as was the case of a group that ran a humorous Facebook about General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

 

Vietnam, read more in the link Watch. Grade: Not Free/Not Free

 

source http://www.forbes.com/sites/erinhale/2016/11/22/the-5-worst-places-to-be-an-internet-user-in-southeast-asia/#291e389765db

[Tiffer]

It more about internet feardom than freedom.

[hawker9000]

Thailand is learning the hard way that the social media is a global beast and well beyond its jurisdiction, and that no amount of domestic restriction can keep embarrassing truths out of the international discussion.  The more insistent and intrusive they get about this, the more backward the country becomes in the eyes of the outside world.  It's a terrible investment of political capital and a loss-leader when it comes to credibility. 

 

But I guess if all one cares about is snuggling up with the Chinese, who've written the book on repression, then this is as good a way as any...

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by hawker9000