Tourist SIM lets government track every move

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buksida
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Re: Tourist SIM lets government track every move

Post by buksida »

Plan on tourist SIM teetering
The national telecom regulator says it may have to abandon a plan to force foreign visitors to use special SIM cards that can be tracked by authorities if strong opposition is registered at the first public hearing on the issue.

The first public hearing on the tourist SIM plan is scheduled for next month.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has approved in principle a requirement that foreign visitors to Thailand use special SIM cards in their phones that can be tracked by the authorities.

The resolution was said to have been drawn up in the interests of national security.

"If the plan is widely opposed and draws heavy criticism from participants at the first hearing or leads to a potential threat to travellers' privacy, we might scrap it completely," NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith told the Bangkok Post.

Embassy representatives as well as ambassadors from China, the US, Britain and some European countries -- all of which provide high tourist traffic to Thailand -- will be invited to participate at the hearing, he said.

The regulator will also raise the tourist SIM plan on its website and other popular social networking sites, including pantip.com, to generate more feedback.

The tourist SIM initiative was originated at a regional-level meeting in Phuket in July, which gathered telecom regulators from the 10 Asean countries.

Among the 10, Malaysia is the only one using special traceable SIM cards for foreign travellers.



http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... -teetering
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Re: Tourist SIM lets government track every move

Post by Bristolian »

Tourist SIM-tracking plan axed
http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/1202657/

Plans for special SIM cards for tourists have finally been scrapped by the national telecom regulator after facing strong opposition from the government, which says the idea would do more harm than good.

The plan also drew heavy criticism at the first public hearing from participants who said it could lead to a potential threat to travellers' privacy.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) initially approved in principle a requirement that foreign visitors to Thailand use special SIM cards in their phones that could be tracked by the authorities in the interest of national security.

The NBTC planned to force all mobile operators to embed location-based service software into their SIM cards to enable them to track the call history of the user in the event he or she became a criminal suspect.

Operators would be required to sell the special SIM cards to foreign travellers wanting to use local mobile services.

The regulator expected to roll out the special SIM cards in early 2017.

The initiative was originated at a regional-level meeting in Phuket in July last year, gathering telecom regulators from the 10 Asean countries. Among the 10, only Malaysia uses special traceable SIM cards for foreign travellers.

"We have stopped all related processes [including public hearings] for the tourist SIM card plan," said NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith.

The NBTC earlier prepared to invite embassy representatives and ambassadors from China, the US, Britain and some European countries -- all of which provide high tourist traffic to Thailand -- to take part in a public hearing on the tourist SIMs.

Mr Takorn said the government, especially the Tourism and Sports Ministry, is concerned that the tourist SIM would cause severe damage to the local tourism industry -- a critical component of the country's economic growth, contributing 17% of the GDP.

The ministry reported that 19.06 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in the first half of 2016, an increase of 12% year-on-year.

An executive at a major mobile company who asked not to be named said the termination of the tourist SIM plan was for the good of the country.

Though the cost of requiring traceable SIM cards would create a small burden to mobile operators, the source said it might make foreign travellers unhappy or uncomfortable with the way local authorities handle personal information.
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