Facebook faces imminent shutdown in Thailand: Report

[samsensam]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Facebook still accessible in Thailand as government deadline passes

REUTERS
 

FILE PHOTO: The Facebook logo is displayed on the company's website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France on February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Facebook social media site was still available in Thailand on Tuesday after concerns arose that authorities would shut it down if Facebook did not take down content deemed threatening to national security.

 

Thailand's telecoms regulator said last week it would give FacebookThailand until Tuesday to take down 131 web addresses with content deemed threatening to security or which violated strict lese majeste laws.

 

The threat prompted a flurry of concern in the Southeast Asian country - one of the most Facebook-active countries in Asia - that Facebook would be blocked.

 

Thailand's Information Communications Technology Ministry temporarily blocked access to Facebook after a May 2014 coup by the military, prompting an outcry from netizens.

 

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-16

 

authorities would shut it down if Facebook did not take down content deemed threatening to national security.

 

nothing to do with national security, everything to do with the DM. and freedom of the press.

 

[Krataiboy]

Cowardy custards.

[GarryP]

38 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

authorities would shut it down if Facebook did not take down content deemed threatening to national security.

 

nothing to do with national security, everything to do with the DM. and freedom of the press.

 

Everything to do with national insecurity.

[bazza73]

No loss to me if they do. Just a narcissist's playground.

[Luckysilk]

Someone sent a memo today.

 

"Please no block Facebook we just remember tourists post selfies and play FB too"

[metisdead]

Posts in violation of the following have been removed:

 

In using Thai Visa you agree to abide by the following terms:

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By law, the Thai Royal Family are above politics. Speculation, comments and discussion of either a political or personal nature are not allowed when discussing HM The King or the Royal family.

To breach these rules may result in immediate ban.

Linking to external sites which break these rules will be treated as if you yourself posted them.

[beautifulthailand99]

Well tat went well , a right royal mess they have made of it.

[brewsterbudgen]

I have no problem accessing the DM, and haven't had for a long time.

Yes. The DM app has never been blocked or cropped.

[Artisi]

11 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Well tat went well , a right royal mess they have made of it.

is that anything new or unusual?

[Bangkok Barry]

40 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Yes. The DM app has never been blocked or cropped.

I don't use an app. I access on my laptop the same as any other site.

[reenatinnakor]

Even they shut down Facebook or Facebook does what they want they can't shut down Google and other search engines. Not sure how many millions have just gone onto Google (like I just did) to search for the relevant material. Something that no one would have done had this not been in the news. Well done Thailand Government!

 

Maybe they will have to implement a national intranet like they do in North Korea.

[poohy]

Just a thought could they not just issue a set of dress restrictions/ suggestions for Thais travelling abroad  it might be simpler  

[beautifulthailand99]

I was under the impression we are still in a period of mourning.

[Trouble]

Actually it might be interesting to see a worldwide shutdown of all the social media networks for 2 days just to sit and watch people react.  Can't seem to go any place these days without everyone having his/her face glued to their smart phones.  I can't imagine the time lost for businesses while their employees play on their phones.  Must be in the trillions of dollars worldwide in lost productivity.

[wakeupplease]

The FB story is going around the world quicker than that dam virus the other day, many are now commenting on it and that neck of the woods is coming in for big criticism.

 

If they had of said nothing and ignored it, there would of been no story, now even the camels in the desert know.

 

How to make yourself look realty stupid in the worlds eyes, mind you, that does not take much with some.

[JHolmesJr]

8 hours ago, humqdpf said:

Everyone will migrate to WhatsApp where the Junta cannot read their posts

as they should…FB is just a high cluster^%$# that has become a cesspool of fake news and videos….. and tolerates gross misuse of their 

features by the criminally insane.

[beautifulthailand99]

Probably the biggest 'loss of face' for Thailand certainly in my lifetime. Get your crash helmets on and buckle up we will be in for a bumpy ride. Prayuth and co certainly have some deep thinking to do. 

 

[balo]

More than 70% of businesses here, any coffee shop or restaurant will have a FB page.  So it will hurt the businesses for sure, the military know they can't pull the plug on FB , so it will never happen . 

 

 

[fruitman]

4 hours ago, Luckysilk said:

Someone sent a memo today.

 

"Please no block Facebook we just remember tourists post selfies and play FB too"

My chinese friends were delighted to use facebook and youtube in thailand. They don't have that at home.

[Thechook]

6 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

The FB story is going around the world quicker than that dam virus the other day, many are now commenting on it and that neck of the woods is coming in for big criticism.

 

If they had of said nothing and ignored it, there would of been no story, now even the camels in the desert know.

 

How to make yourself look realty stupid in the worlds eyes, mind you, that does not take much with some.

It's had multi million views and likes and yes Prayuth and his soldiers can be congratulated for the huge promotion as it was probably only known by a handful of people prior to the government advertising it.

[duanebigsby]

14 hours ago, Pattaya28 said:

An interesting statistic.

Number 1 "City" in the world for Facebook daily users is "Bangkok".

Funny how a city of 8 million can have 30 million  FB users  though. 

Why I don't always put much faith in statistics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[cbmgolfer]

18 hours ago, varun said:

This represents an opportunity - for VPN providers

Problem solved.

That worked in China for about 4 or 5 years before they figured out how to hack the VPNs ... I suspect it wouldn't take Thailand long to "borrow" that knowledge from their good friends.

[cbmgolfer]

32 minutes ago, duanebigsby said:

Funny how a city of 8 million can have 30 million  FB users  though. 

Why I don't always put much faith in statistics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

My wife has 4 accounts ... why, I have no idea ...

[shanesox]

VPN. job done


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[cbmgolfer]

13 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I wouldn't worry. The government issues proclamations on a weekly basis and then does absolutely nothing. No alcohol to be sold near schools, strictly enforcing the law about riding in the back of pickups etc. Last week it was supposed to be fining motorcyclists who ride the wrong way/on the sidewalk/without helmets. Next week it will be something else. Pissing off nearly everyone in Thailand, as well as businesses that use FB as customer contact, would cause a revolution.

Hey, at least they don't sell alcohol between 11 and 5 or on public holidays.

 

.... except I know that one place .... oh yea, and that one .... oh yea and that one too ... oh, never mind ...

[Guest]

what a stupid thing for the government to say as they were never going to follow through with their threat, now they will just spin it or not mention it at all

[LannaGuy]

1 hour ago, cbmgolfer said:

My wife has 4 accounts ... why, I have no idea ...

if your thai wife has 4 accounts and you have 'no idea' i suggest you will have 'no idea' about what she get's up to and many parts of her life I suggest you go find out

[brewsterbudgen]

I was under the impression we are still in a period of mourning.

That ended months ago. Only government workers are still expected to wear black.

[varun]

1 hour ago, cbmgolfer said:

That worked in China for about 4 or 5 years before they figured out how to hack the VPNs ... I suspect it wouldn't take Thailand long to "borrow" that knowledge from their good friends.

Incorrect.

Although some popular VPN's such as Astrill have fallen victim to the Great Wall,

there are a handful of VPN's that work flawlessly with decent speeds.

 

It is extremely difficult and cost-prohibitive to circumvent the more robust and expensive VPN's that have 256-bit AES encryption, zero-knowledge DNS, and a no-log policy.

Furthermore, basic on the overall networking/IT competence of a techie Somchai, good luck in completely blocking a VPN!

[GarryP]

2 hours ago, duanebigsby said:

Funny how a city of 8 million can have 30 million  FB users  though. 

Why I don't always put much faith in statistics.

 

Bangkok is not a city of 8 million. The population is about double that. The 8 million figure comes from those who are registered as residing in Bangkok. Many do not move their house registration to the city but live here.