Facebook faces imminent shutdown in Thailand: Report

[metisdead]

Referring to Thailand or the government as a dictatorship, military dictatorship or other such terms will be removed.

[quadperfect]

I would also like to see what would happen if its blocked.

 

[Stevemercer]

I think the government wants access blocked to 100 pages, or about 0.001% of FB's content. It seems a bit heavy handed to threaten to penalise 99.999% of fair dinkum Thai users because the government can't control 0.0001% of the content.

 

The government is also pushing ahead with a single internet gateway to Thailand and has already twice successfully tested its ability to shut down FB.

Edited May 16, 2017 by Stevemercer

[ThaidDown]

1 hour ago, poohy said:

Best they dont look at the Daily Mail today then!  

or 'The Sun'

 

[jimster]

Just now, anotheruser said:

 

The thing is that it isn't just Thais. The fact people are online on social media talking about Thais and their internet obsession, seems to be an irony lost on many.

 

The single gateway was abandoned as far as I know. However if they do ban FB (which I highly doubt) it is a slippery slope leaning towards putting the gateway in place. this proposal won't work because Thailand can not enforce it's laws on the global community at large. In this sense it would be easier for the junta to make a single gateway.

You're right, of course it isn't just Thais. However, what I have noticed is that a large number of Thais are still very much into FB in a way that people in the west were 5-8 years ago, but now you are starting to see people leave FB but I haven't noticed any real exodus away from FB amongst Thais. This could change in coming years, but a reported 44 million FB users in Thailand out of a population of around 68 million is very significant.

 

You mentioned that the single gateway could mean a loss of access to Google, YouTube etc. well what would replace them? Unlike China, which has it's own domestic versions of these, such as Baidu and YouKu, Thailand is almost completely dependent on western companies for these and many other services. No way should any attempt be made to regulate the internet in Thailand or anywhere else in the world but unless Thais create their own alternatives to FB and search engines like Google, they'll remain completely dependent upon them.

[anotheruser]

Just now, Stevemercer said:

I think the government wants access blocked to 100 pages, or about 0.001% of FB's content. It seems a bit heavy handed to threaten to penalise 99.999% of fair dinkum Thai users because the government can't control 0.0001% of the content.

The percentage of content blocked is of no consequence. The government wants to dictate to FB what they can and can not make available. It isn't about a few off color pages but the premise that the Thai government can enforce Thailand's laws on global corporations. This is why FB would rather close down in Thailand than bow down.

[dotpoom]

1 hour ago, rkidlad said:

I read it was going to be shut down at 10am immediately unless said pages aren't removed. I guess local time meant Silicon Valley time. Or perhaps the pages were removed? 

I think you meant to say .....unless they ARE removed.

[Goldbear]

As much as Facebook is a pain in the ass sometimes, I use the messaging function to keep in touch with a lot of my friends. I hope that it doesn't get shut down.

 

(It's better than the first time I came to Thailand when it was only letters and postcards.)

[jimster]

3 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

I think the government wants access blocked to 100 pages, or about 0.001% of FB's content. It seems a bit heavy handed to threaten to penalise 99.999% of fair dinkum Thai users because the government can't control 0.0001% of the content.

 

The government is also pushing ahead with a single internet gateway to Thailand and has already twice successfully tested its ability to shut down FB.

So it's still pushing ahead with this single internet gateway thing?

 

What would this mean to accessibility of online content? So far, except for very, very limited banned content everything I search for is available in Thailand (fortunately) including content that is or may be restricted in some European countries, for example.

[jimster]

Just now, Goldbear said:

As much as Facebook is a pain in the ass sometimes, I use the messaging function to keep in touch with a lot of my friends. I hope that it doesn't get shut down.

 

(It's better than the first time I came to Thailand when it was only letters and postcards.)

Not so sure about that because letters and postcards are much more personal. Nowadays nobody writes each other letters and postcards anymore, except very close friends living in the west. In a way this is a sad reflection of the times. As far as being able to contact people easily, nearly every Thai has a mobile phone and you can always send them SMS messages or even more popular these days are instant chat apps such as LINE, WeChat, KakaoTalk, Viper, Skype and WhatsApp. The former 2 are the most popular in Thailand and in my experience a much better way of getting hold of people than FB.

[anotheruser]

Just now, jimster said:

So it's still pushing ahead with this single internet gateway thing?

 

What would this mean to accessibility of online content? So far, except for very, very limited banned content everything I search for is available in Thailand (fortunately) including content that is or may be restricted in some European countries, for example.

 

They thought up the single gateway awhile back. This was their first choice of options but there was a lot of opposition to the idea and it got shelved. This is what second prize looks like if they ban FB. The first choice was to control the entire net. If they could get away with it they would.

 

However as another poster mentioned Thailand has basically no tech resources of their own so people realized if Thailand was togo it alone there would be very little online of any worth. 

 

 

[lovelomsak]

I was hopeful it would happen then maybe I could see more than just the top of my wife's head because she always has her head down checking facebook.

[anotheruser]

Just now, lovelomsak said:

I was hopeful it would happen then maybe I could see more than just the top of my wife's head because she always has her head down checking facebook.

Wouldn't she just go back to ignoring you using Thai soap operas? 

[eggers]

1 hour ago, anotheruser said:

Funny how people say Thai people. Have you been to other countries lately? It is the same everywhere. 

Yes, same in all countries....faces buried in phones, zero conversations.... posting selfies, food & other inane images. 

[transam]

Just now, eggers said:

Yes, same in all countries....faces buried in phones, zero conversations.... posting selfies, food & other inane images. 

Isn't that called "Freedom"....?

[anotheruser]

3 minutes ago, eggers said:

Yes, same in all countries....faces buried in phones, zero conversations.... posting selfies, food & other inane images. 

 

They most likely are having a conversation. Just with somebody else somewhere else and not you. I was laughing at a thread the other day about some guy complaining about massage boys staring at their phones.

 

Can you imagine? You have the shitty job of being a gay masseuse and now some old guy wants you to pay him attention and flirt. Sometimes they use FB out of self defense. 

Edited May 16, 2017 by anotheruser

[BKKMG]

1 hour ago, poohy said:

Best they dont look at the Daily Mail today then!  

Is there a way to view it without travelling the earth to find a copy?

[Luckysilk]

5 minutes ago, BKKMG said:

Is there a way to view it without travelling the earth to find a copy?

Only via the APP

 

A lot of mega news organizations are picking up the story and showing the images which will most likely mean lots more papers being blocked.

[williamgeorgeallen]

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

I would like to see Facebook shut down here, just to witness the aftermath. I can see Thais running around like headless chickens.

Not going to happen tough. Even this Government isn't that stupid.

me too. facebook is one of the few things that could lead to a regime change.

[Captain Jack]

Don't forget that Thailand can easily resolve this "issue" without blocking FB. FB's standard and publicly stated promise is that it will immediately remove any content deemed to be illegal by the host country.  All Thailand needs is for its courts to declare these posts to be in breach of Thai law and FB will take them straight down. The fact that Thai courts might find that (or anything else) difficult to get done is not FB's fault.

 

In the mean time if they (try to) turn FB off then we'll will be straight back to pre-2014 conditions with rioting in the streets.  I give you the "National Council for Peace and Order".  555

[Familyaffairs]

The wonderful democracy that Thailand is: They don't want anyone to interfere in internal matters, but should be allowed to interfere internationally. Facebook: just shut down yr Thailand office and move it to Burma, everybody use VPNs see what they can do about it then.

[transam]

Strange the press/media can print/show photos of dead folk in LOS on their pages....Strange that....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

FWIW, my Thai wife used to be big into Facebook as a means of connecting with her local friends and work colleagues, sharing photos and posts, etc etc.  All totally non-political and strictly social, girly kind of stuff.

 

But then in the past few months, for reasons I'm not clear on, she seems to have shifted pretty much entirely to Instagram. Maybe she went thru her FB phase and now is into her IG phase, dunno. But perhaps it's also because, I gather, Instagram is more of a visual, photo-centric platform whereas Facebook perhaps has more of a textual element along with its photos and videos. And Lord knows, looking at photos and video clips is probably a more popular pastime here than actually reading and writing.

 

[varun]

This represents an opportunity - for VPN providers

Problem solved.

[anotheruser]

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

FWIW, my Thai wife used to be big into Facebook as a means of connecting with her local friends and work colleagues, sharing photos and posts, etc etc.  All totally non-political and strictly social, girly kind of stuff.

 

But then in the past few months, for reasons I'm not clear on, she seems to have shifted pretty much entirely to Instagram. Maybe she went thru her FB phase and now is into her IG phase, dunno. But perhaps it's also because, I gather, Instagram is more of a visual, photo-centric platform whereas Facebook perhaps has more of a textual element along with its photos and videos. And Lord knows, looking at photos and video clips is probably a more popular pastime here than actually reading and writing.

 

FB is more for older people these days. The cool kids have all migrated to Snapchat. 

[OJAS]

Couldn't care less personally if FB is blocked here since I have deactivated my account after discovering that the majority of my so-called "friends" back in the UK are Remoaners!

[janclaes47]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

And Lord knows, looking at photos and video clips is probably a more popular pastime here than actually reading and writing.

 

That's it indeed. I know a lady, actually I  know plenty of similar examples, who has more than 3000 "friends".

 

When she makes a post " I'm hungry" or " it rains" she'll get over 200 likes within the next 30 minutes.

 

Though if her posts ever gather more than 3 comments it will be a record.

[mark01]

They've been pushing more and more for people to post only "happy Thai posts".

They really can't deal with anything seen as "negative" against them.

 

I would like to see the international and domestic response if they do stop FB.

I'm sure it won't be Happy press!!

[transam]

2 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

 

That's it indeed. I know a lady, actually I  know plenty of similar examples, who has more than 3000 "friends".

 

When she makes a post " I'm hungry" or " it rains" she'll get over 200 likes within the next 30 minutes.

 

Though if her posts ever gather more than 3 comments it will be a record.

But that stuff is there fun and freedom......

[anotheruser]

3 minutes ago, mark01 said:

They've been pushing more and more for people to post only "happy Thai posts".

They really can't deal with anything seen as "negative" against them.

 

I would like to see the international and domestic response if they do stop FB.

I'm sure it won't be Happy press!!

That's simply not true. Find a farang with their feet up and post it.