Computer law ‘may make Facebook act’

[rooster59]

Computer law ‘may make Facebook act’

By ASINA PORNWASIN
THE NATION

 

 

30% of ‘illegal’ content involves lese majeste.

 

A LEGAL expert has said certain clauses in the Computer Crime Act may be enforced to have social media giant Facebook block access to website content deemed illegal.

 

Paiboon Amonpinyokeat, who advised the National Legislative Assembly committee that drafted the law’s 2017 amendments, said Sections 14 and 15 of the legislation might be applied if authorities could prove Facebook’s local office was aware of the flow of illegal content through its network but failed to remove such content by blocking particular URLs.

 

His comments came after the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) set Facebook a Tuesday deadline to block a remaining 131 websites of 309 it wants removed.

 

If the NBTC failed to prove the social media giant was aware of the illegal content, it would need to take legal action directly with Facebook Inc, he said. But that process would take longer, possibly over a year, since any action would have to involve the Criminal Court and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in submitting an indictment against an overseas-based firm.

 

US-based Facebook’s office in Thailand has a caching data network (CDN) that allows local flows of information before it goes to the parent company.

 

If the authorities wanted to take legal action against the Facebook office in Thailand, they would need to prove that the local office was the CDN of Facebook Inc that caches data in Thailand and sends it outside Thailand, Paiboon said.

 

Section 14 sets a maximum jail term of five years and a fine of up to Bt100,000 for anyone found guilty of putting into a computer system any data or information that violates the Penal Code. Section 15 stipulates that any service provider allowing such wrongdoing through their computer system is also liable to the same penalties.

 

According to the Computer Crime Act, a “service provider” refers to not only Internet service providers but also content platforms such as Pantip.com, Tarad.com and Facebook.

 

The Facebook office in Thailand is a different legal entity from Facebook Inc, which also operates the server for its local office. Its office in Thailand only processes data/information and sends it through Facebook’s overseas-located server.

 

The local Facebook office is overseen by Facebook Ireland, not Facebook Inc of the US.

 

Authorities are seeking cooperation from Facebook in blocking access to a remaining 131 web-pages deemed illegal. The social media giant has already blocked 178 of the 309 web pages requested by the authorities while Google and YouTube have blocked all the 469 web-pages requested.

 

These are among the 6,900 URLs earlier ordered by court to be blocked due to their illegal content. About 30 per cent of the online content on those web pages involves lese majeste, according to Morrakot Kulatumyotin, president of the Thailand Internet Service Provider Association (Tispa). The remaining illegal content includes gambling, pornography and phishing scams.

 

Morrakot said yesterday that more than 60 per cent of illegal URLs are no longer accessible one week after Tispa asked Facebook by email to block them. 

 

She told The Nation that Facebook did not officially reply to the email sent last week but the social media giant seemed to have taken action. Some Facebook pages reportedly are no longer accessible from Thailand.

 

“Feedback is better, since within one week of sending the email to Facebook, more than 60 per cent of the URLs have been blocked,” said Morrakot.

The NBTC has given Facebook until Tuesday to comply with its request for the remaining 131 websites to be blocked.

 

Morrakot said the issue of blocking |URLs is sensitive since it is related to the human rights and it has drawn much |attention locally and overseas.

 

Facebook said earlier this week it would check requests to see if content does violate local laws. “If we determine that it does, then we make it unavailable in the relevant country or territory and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30315067

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-13

[wakeupplease]

CCA and the idiots behind it, pure evil

 

VPN gets you around this and hides you from those tracking FB

[z42]

This is pure tyranny, and also highly nonsensical for a multitude of reasons.. Censorship very often doesn't work, and in cases actually has the opposite effect. The "government" are going to have to tread very carefully here as unlike China they don't have the luxury of being a superpower and having vice like control of information in the internet age.
The NCPO is already appearing to have outstayed its welcome in some quarters, and if they start making really drastic moves in regards to high level censorship of entire platforms then it could multiply and escalate very quickly. At any rate it can't end well now anyways..

[darksidedog]

Complete and utter foolishness that is showing the world the depth of paranoia and media suppression of our junta.

It is so easy to read Andrew Drummond or the Daily Mail with a proxy server, so these sites with "illegal content" can't be blocked to people with any savvy at all.

The junta should be honest, remove the word illegal and say they have blocked 6,900 URL's with content they don't like.

[PatOngo]

I no "Like" Faaatebook!

[cyberfarang]

45 minutes ago, wakeupplease said:

CCA and the idiots behind it, pure evil

 

VPN gets you around this and hides you from those tracking FB

Don`t kid yourself, no it doesn`t, especially if our Internet is routed through a single gateway.

[rkidlad]

I'm just going to sit back and watch. Usually when the govenement say they're going to do something wholly unpopular, they then backtrack. Reminds me of a bully. 

[doremifasol]

...... and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted.”

 

God forbid I make a mistake clicking on a link! 

 

.

[wow64]

Time to close the local office.. not worth the hassle. 

[wow64]

1 hour ago, cyberfarang said:

Don`t kid yourself, no it doesn`t, especially if our Internet is routed through a single gateway.

 

The VPN is encrypted let me know they get around this even if it's going through a  single gateway?

[Chip Allen]

The message is clear. Thai law applies worldwide.

[Chang_paarp]

Does anyone remember when the "authorities" didn't mess with Facebook a while ago? The hue and cry was quick and loud over a relatively brief outage.

 

If they (don't) try to block Facebook again the back-flip will be quicker and more spectacular than the one over seat-belts. Lets see if they can do it without the collateral damage to other sites and to the economy as so many businesses rely on FB.

[Rhys]

Control Alt Delete that organization....

[cyberfarang]

11 minutes ago, wow64 said:

 

The VPN is encrypted let me know they get around this even if it's going through a  single gateway?

https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/myths-about-vpn-logging-and-anonymity

 

 

[mtls2005]

I don't get why this is a Facebook issue?

 

Can't the MICT, or whatever they're called today, just block these "offensive" URLs?

 

I though that they already had a process for dealing with internet censorship?

 

If you don't like what someone is posting on Facebook just throw them in jail. What's the point of giving yourself unlimited power with zero checks/balances, and amending the CCA to be so broad as to charge someone complaining about the weather, if you're not going to use it.

 

 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

If I was FB  I would discontinue my service to the country based on the forced suppression of information by the junta. The junta will be kicked out within a week when the Thai's loose FB inside the country.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

34 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/myths-about-vpn-logging-and-anonymity

 

 

Your both correct to a certain degree. With a VPN you will be able to access FB from a non Thai IP which will enable you to view blocked info. The VPN however don't shield your identity. The spies will thus be able to see that you are using a VPN but will not be able to see what you are viewing, unless they us further spyware to catch your communications before it is encrypted.

[williamgeorgeallen]

11 minutes ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

If I was FB  I would discontinue my service to the country based on the forced suppression of information by the junta. The junta will be kicked out within a week when the Thai's loose FB inside the country.

ha, would love to see this happen. the army would have to beg facebook to continue service to thailand. army needs to start their own version of face book like they started their own uber service. then again neither would actually work.

[tracker1]

Can anyone enlighten me on the 469 Google and You Tube and the 309 Facebook pages that have been removed ? It seems previous elected Governments didn't have a problem or have these web sites arose since the Junta takeover ?

[RigPig]

4 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

CCA and the idiots behind it, pure evil

 

VPN gets you around this and hides you from those tracking FB

You do realise that using a VPN in Thailand is illegal?  And they can tell if you are using one, they just can't see what you are doing...

[RigPig]

Not a problem as long as Noi can post pics of the meal she had with Lek......

 

[Tatsujin]

Simple answer, make sure FB has no servers in Thailand.

[irwinfc]

just block facebook and be done with it. that would be an even greater service to those living in thailand.

[wow64]

2 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/myths-about-vpn-logging-and-anonymity

 

 

This article is about the VPN provider in another country (the vpn service provider) logging the information.

 

Nothing to do with the Single Gateway or anyone here being able to unencrypt your VPN connection.

 

What you are posting or browsing on the internet is private but your identity is not.. ie the vpn service provider knows who you are.

 

It actually says this in the article if you read it rather then doing a google search. 

Edited May 13, 2017 by wow64

[MaxLee]

2 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

If I was FB  I would discontinue my service to the country based on the forced suppression of information by the junta. The junta will be kicked out within a week when the Thai's loose FB inside the country.

And the trillions of kids in Thailand are gonna go gaga crazy epidemics if FB and social media is blocked nation wide .

[midas]

This is really only one solution left

 

 

 

[Srikcir]

18 minutes ago, wow64 said:

but your identity is not

Are you referring to IP address as identity or one's actual name and physical address?

Seems there might be alternatives to revealing one's "identity."

http://www.pcmag.com/article/343394/how-to-hide-your-ip-address

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, RigPig said:

You do realise that using a VPN in Thailand is illegal? 

I believe only to the extent that it's being used to conduct an illegal business (ie., gambling, distribution of fake products, drugs)or activity (ie., human trafficking, unlicensed call centers).

[WhizBang]

If I was in charge of FB, I would immediately close down all FB offices in Thailand and assist any employees who wished to leave.  Then I would tell the junta to go <deleted> themselves.

 

That would put the whole thing in the junta's court.  So whatever were to happen next, the junta would have to take full responsibility.

 

They could try pulling the plug on FB, but that would likely result in a backlash they couldn't deal with.  It could be enough to topple them, which is why they wouldn't dare.  So it would really just show them to be a toothless tiger.

 

 

[SiamBeast]

 I solved the problem long ago by not having a Facebook. Except helping me better waste my time and allow them to follow me, and perhaps attention-whoring for likes, I don't see how Facebook can be beneficial to me while I have Whatsapp and Line to talk to my loved ones via encrypted chat.