Experts baulk at plan for social media ‘watch centre’

[webfact]

Experts baulk at plan for social media ‘watch centre’
By Asina Pornwasin
The Nation

 

File photo

 

BANGKOK: -- MEDIA and legal experts have strongly opposed a proposed social media monitoring centre, which would require all users to register with their fingerprints and ID cards, saying it will lead to even more underground online content.

 

The response came after the National Reform Steering Assembly (NRSA) on Monday accepted a proposal requiring social media users to identify themselves and for the establishment of a “watch centre” to monitor netizens 24 hours a day.

 

The proposal included the establishment of a central social media watch centre, citing “inappropriate” use of social media. It also proposed that the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) work with social networking websites, notably Facebook, to identify users.

 

Paiboon Amonpinyokeat, a legal expert and founder at P&P Law Firm, said that the proposal affects people’s freedom of expression on social media, since it also seeks to require users to register with their fingerprints and ID card numbers. 

 

He said additional measures are not necessary because the NBTC has already enforced regulations on ownership of both monthly and prepaid SIM cards.

 

If the proposal is adopted, it will also hurt the country’s policy to promote the digital economy and Internet-related businesses, since more people will turn to apps that provide anonymity or use social media platforms hosted in foreign countries.

 

Any online content regulations should be enforced only on critical national security areas such as unrest in the country’s southernmost provinces, he said.

 

The government should consider giving incentives to Internet service providers for self-regulation, he said.

 

Prinya Hom-anek, the president and chief executive officer of ACIS Professional Center, is also against the proposal as he said it would encourage people to go underground or use avatars. The government should launch a public campaign for a higher level of digital literacy and encourage social sanctions against unethical social media users, he said.

 

The proposed monitoring centre will not work, he said, although he expressed support for the government to require Over the Top (OTT) broadcasters to register when providing their services in Thailand.

 

Mana Treelayapewat, dean at the School of Communication Arts, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said there should be more public education campaigns on responsible social media use since content regulations are unlikely to be effective. In addition, he said the country’s image would be hurt if people’s freedom of expression is affected.

 

He said the proposal will also affect the “Thailand 4.0” modernisation policy as well as the path to promote a digital economy and society, noting that the proposal is probably aimed at politically sensitive content.

 

Meanwhile, the Thai Armed Forces have stepped up their preparedness for cyberwarfare amid growing global threats.

 

At a seminar yesterday on preparatory measures to cope with the rise of cyberwarfare, Maj-General Rit Indarawud, head of the Army’s cyberwarfare operations centre, said there are five levels of threats. The general said North Korea and Iran are among the most aggressive nations in terms of cyberwarfare. He said North Korea had previously used Thailand as a base to mount its attacks.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30319907

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-05

[Samui Bodoh]

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

The general said North Korea and Iran are among the most aggressive nations in terms of cyberwarfare. 

 

Ah! Now I see who the role models are. That explains a lot.

 

It's too bad as there are several good points made in the article, but I fear that all will be ignored in favour of the "Big Brother" approach.

 

Edited July 4, 2017 by Samui Bodoh

[leeneeds]

Now a permit applied for prior to expression of your opinion 

on  social media,  other wise in breach of communication law,

1) communication permit?

2) disagree permit?

3) agree permit?

4) meeting set up permit?

5) opinion permit?

6) vote permit?

and so where does this stuff (up) end.

[worgeordie]

“watch centre” to monitor netizens 24 hours a day.", so the next step 

in to install  cameras in every Facebook,Line,or whatever's home,

getting nearer to" big brother" is watching you,everyday. strange

how fiction can become fact.

regards worgeordie

[yellowboat]

It is like they want to put the entire country on a leash.  It is just an over controlling military that likes to pens soap operas in their spare time.  It is far too sad to be funny. 

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

the Thai Armed Forces have stepped up their preparedness for cyberwarfare amid growing global threats.

Might want to carefully check your Chinese-purchased weapon systems.

[Just1Voice]

George Orwell's "1984" is alive and thriving in Thailand.

 

[biker Bob]

21 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

George Orwell's "1984" is alive and thriving in Thailand.

 

Amen

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

16 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

 

Forgive me father, for I have sinned...

 

I had a friend once who came down with a serious illness. The doctor offered a cure with some medicine, and that seemed like a good idea at the time, so he took the medicine. But now after taking the medicine, my friend is is worse condition than before his treatment and getting worse all the time.

 

I'm beginning to think, it would have been better if he had just suffered with his original illness, which was pretty bad as it was. But, as they say, hindsight is always 20-20.  At the time, the medicine looked promising and my friend was suffering...

 

Edited July 5, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[clockman]

What people want, is very different to what they will get. Thailand does not have the people trained to carry out this lunacy.

[Smarter Than You]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Forgive me father, for I have sinned...

 

I had a friend once who came down with a serious illness. The doctor offered a cure with some medicine, and that seemed like a good idea at the time, so he took the medicine. But now after taking the medicine, my friend is is worse condition than before his treatment and getting worse all the time.

 

I'm beginning to think, it would have been better if he had just suffered with his original illness, which was pretty bad as it was. But, as they say, hindsight is always 20-20.  At the time, the medicine looked promising and my friend was suffering...

 

Did your friend try the medicine 12 times over 7 decades before his miraculous awakening to its ineffectiveness?

Guess not huh.

Nice attempted excuse though.

[JAG]

It is like they want to put the entire country on a leash.  It is just an over controlling military that likes to pens soap operas in their spare time.  It is far too sad to be funny. 

That is exactly what they want. They don't use, don't understand and don't control social media. They think they can get it under their thumbs like the broadcast and print media.

[lamyai3]

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Forgive me father, for I have sinned...

 

I had a friend once who came down with a serious illness. The doctor offered a cure with some medicine, and that seemed like a good idea at the time, so he took the medicine. But now after taking the medicine, my friend is is worse condition than before his treatment and getting worse all the time.

 

I'm beginning to think, it would have been better if he had just suffered with his original illness, which was pretty bad as it was. But, as they say, hindsight is always 20-20.  At the time, the medicine looked promising and my friend was suffering...

 

Your analogical friend sounds like he had some choice in the matter, as opposed to having the medicine forced on him at gunpoint. 

[naboo]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Forgive me father, for I have sinned...

 

I had a friend once who came down with a serious illness. The doctor offered a cure with some medicine, and that seemed like a good idea at the time, so he took the medicine. But now after taking the medicine, my friend is is worse condition than before his treatment and getting worse all the time.

 

I'm beginning to think, it would have been better if he had just suffered with his original illness, which was pretty bad as it was. But, as they say, hindsight is always 20-20.  At the time, the medicine looked promising and my friend was suffering...

 

When everyone was shouting "This doctor is a fraud" did you not listen?

 

When everyone was telling you "the medicine won't make it better, it will cause more problems" did you not listen?

 

Were you just an arrogant fool? Its hard to accept an apology from someone like you. People like you created this mess whilst people around you with a bit more foresight were saying it was wrong.

[yellowboat]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Forgive me father, for I have sinned...

 

I had a friend once who came down with a serious illness. The doctor offered a cure with some medicine, and that seemed like a good idea at the time, so he took the medicine. But now after taking the medicine, my friend is is worse condition than before his treatment and getting worse all the time.

 

I'm beginning to think, it would have been better if he had just suffered with his original illness, which was pretty bad as it was. But, as they say, hindsight is always 20-20.  At the time, the medicine looked promising and my friend was suffering...

 

Being Thailand, it was probably a woman dressed from head to toe in yellow your friend was trying to appease, not a doctor.

 

Prior to Thailand's failure to maintain a representative government, met all sorts of foreigners who rallied around the idea of the army deposing an elected government.  When they were then hassled at the boarders and asked to leave Thailand, they began to change their tune.   Now it is just having to watch incestuous thinking and heavy handed buffoonery ruin a perfectly good country.  Not that it matters.  Your friend being foreign could not stop the coup.  Hope he can sleep at night regardless. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Really appreciate all the stupid comments thrown my way.

 

I had a personal opinion. I kept to to myself, being a stranger in a strange land, so it had nothing to do with anything that resulted.

 

But there were A LOT of Thais in BKK who were marching in the streets to rightfully protest the violence and corruption that was going on at the time, and demanding something better. As it turned out, they didn't get what they were protesting and marching for. But I think it's pretty hard to blame them for that, because the things they were asking for were the right things....

 

Nobody in their right mind should think that the Thai citizen masses marching in BKK back at the time were marching in favor of Thailand 2017.

 

[JAG]

 
Forgive me father, for I have sinned... [emoji185]
 
I had a friend once who came down with a serious illness. The doctor offered a cure with some medicine, and that seemed like a good idea at the time, so he took the medicine. But now after taking the medicine, my friend is is worse condition than before his treatment and getting worse all the time.
 
I'm beginning to think, it would have been better if he had just suffered with his original illness, which was pretty bad as it was. But, as they say, hindsight is always 20-20.  At the time, the medicine looked promising and my friend was suffering...
 

Absolution for sins, if granted, is effective only if the remorse is genuine, and every effort is made to right the wrongs which resulted.
Otherwise the sins still have to be answered for.

So it is not a quick two "Our Fathers" and a decade of the rosary and all hunky dory.

[metisdead]

Inflammatory grammar police posts and replies have been removed. 

[Smarter Than You]

9 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Really appreciate all the stupid comments thrown my way.

 

I had a personal opinion. I kept to to myself, being a stranger in a strange land, so it had nothing to do with anything that resulted.

 

But there were A LOT of Thais in BKK who were marching in the streets to rightfully protest the violence and corruption that was going on at the time, and demanding something better. As it turned out, they didn't get what they were protesting and marching for. But I think it's pretty hard to blame them for that, because the things they were asking for were the right things....

 

Nobody in their right mind should think that the Thai citizen masses marching in BKK back at the time were marching in favor of Thailand 2017.

 

But there were a lot, lot lot more Thais not marching in the streets.

Ever take the time to wonder why so so many opted out of the marches?

 

Nobody in their right mind should think that the Thai citizen masses not marching (masses that dwarfed those few who marched) were at the time not marching in favour another coup.

[dcnx]

The People's Poet will fix all of this, you wait and see.

 

I smell an Article 44 in the making.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

12 hours ago, yellowboat said:

  Now it is just having to watch incestuous thinking and heavy handed buffoonery ruin a perfectly good country. 

The unfortunate fact of the matter is, that was already being done prior, just in different ways, under a different cast of characters. The passing of time and subsequent events shouldn't erase that fact from anyone's memory.

 

The point of my original post about my sick friend was, at the time, I didn't think the treatment could be any worse than the illness, which was quite a severe illness. But as it has turned out, in fact, the treatment did turn out to be worse than the original illness.  And I'm fessing up to that here. Unfortunately, that's something I would not have imagined at the time. So now, my friend is even sicker than before, and I'm feeling very bad about that.

 

Perhaps in retrospect, the medicine prescribed was the right kind of medicine for my friend at the time. But the doctors handling his case as it turns out didn't have my friend's best interests at heart, and instead were just out to advance their own professional interests. And there were certain people working with the doctors at the time, non-medical types, who played a big role in things and then subsequently disappeared after treatment commenced.  They too have a lot to answer for, but these days, seem nowhere to be found.

[Cadbury]

On ‎5‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 8:00 AM, leeneeds said:

and so where does this stuff (up) end.

Thai junta stuff-ups only rarely ever end. One of the more recent examples of  a never ending stuff-up would be the migrant workers and employers laws. That has the potential to go on for years.

The longer the military runs the country the more loopier it's administration becomes. It is all to do with shortage of experience, excess of immaturity (as exampled by the PM with his poetry and twerking dancers) and lack of purpose and direction. 

Censorship is the only way it can stop the media reporting it's increasingly frequent shortcomings and it's progressive conversion to total militarism.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Cadbury

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, dcnx said:

I smell an Article 44 in the making.

And after that there will be a Reverse Article 44 to undo the stuff-up they will likely make with the ill-considered ruling in the first place.

I doubt they have the slightest awareness of the fools they are making of themselves.

[tukkytuktuk]

Just as George Orwell predicted. You just wait and see, you'll have to use encrypted software to post on Thai Visa. Hope you're all using proxies and Tor web browsers when replying to word association in the Farang pub.