Thailand Censorship Thread: tilting towards Chinese-style internet controls

[caller]

Thai lawyers representing media and HR taking Prayut to Court over the latest edict.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -pms-order

[migrant]

Thai lawyers representing media and HR taking Prayut to Court over the latest edict.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -pms-order

Looks like they did good.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ree-speech

[buksida]

A minor victory - but the regime is powering up its weapons ...

Internet freedom declines further in Thailand
Thailand has moved into the third-lowest tier in the world for internet freedom, down two steps from the year before, according to Comparitech, a website that focuses on improving cybersecurity and privacy online.

Internet freedoms in Thailand are “73% restricted”, it said, placing the country among a small group — along with Belarus, Qatar, Syria, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates — assigned a score of 8 out of 11, with 11 being North Korea and China. Full details can be seen in the interactive map published on the Comparitech website.

Thailand’s score declined significantly from 6 out of 10 in 2020, mainly because of increased censorship of adult websites including Pornhub, one of the 20 most-visited sites in the country, Comparitech said.

Researchers carried out a country-by-country comparison to see which countries impose the harshest internet restrictions and where citizens can enjoy the most online freedom. It looked at restrictions or bans for torrenting, pornography, social media, virtual private networks (VPN) and messaging/VoIP apps, and restrictions or heavy censorship of political media.

The worst countries for internet censorship were North Korea and China at 11 out of 11, while Iran scored 10. No country scored 9 but six countries including Thailand scored 8.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... n-thailand

Thailand really wants that number 11 ...

[buksida]

Thai police seeking spyware that will help it monitor chat applications
Thai police are seeking software that would help it monitor chat applications and social media private messages, a police source told Thai Enquirer on Tuesday.

The Royal Thai Police have reached out to several companies selling software similar to the Pegasus software developed by an Israeli defense company. Police have approached vendors looking for technology that could be used to monitor messages sent between popular chat applications like LINE, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/31061/thai ... lications/

Getting more like China here every day ...

[handdrummer]

Thai police seeking spyware that will help it monitor chat applications
Thai police are seeking software that would help it monitor chat applications and social media private messages, a police source told Thai Enquirer on Tuesday.

The Royal Thai Police have reached out to several companies selling software similar to the Pegasus software developed by an Israeli defense company. Police have approached vendors looking for technology that could be used to monitor messages sent between popular chat applications like LINE, WhatsApp, and Telegram.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/31061/thai ... lications/

Getting more like China here every day ...

And places like this forum, because you know that the white devils are a hotbed of insurrection.

[buksida]

And places like this forum, because you know that the white devils are a hotbed of insurrection.

Unlikely, the authorities will be scanning for commentary and key phrases in their own language by known activists - they don't give a hoot what a bunch of retired farangs moan about on a small expat forum.

[buksida]

Covid news gurus deny censorship role
The government is ramping up efforts to tackle fake news and disinformation by setting up a special media team with communications experts Seri Wongmontha and Kasemsan Veerakul serving as "executive editors".

But questions are being raised whether the task force is really just a fresh bid by the government to counter political opponents and stifle opposing views after a previous bid to gag the media was struck down by the Civil Court out of fears it would trample on free speech.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... rship-role

Its fake news unless it has been approved by the dictatorship ...

[buksida]

Prachatai found on DES’ ‘fake news’ list
Prachatai’s Facebook page has been found on the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES)’s list of sites that spread fake news, which also includes Facebook pages for activists and activist groups, as well as other online news sites.

The Reporters reported on 24 August 2021 that between 16 – 22 August, the MDES reported that they have found 44 URLs which they claimed to be spreading fake news, and that they are in the process of requesting a court order to block at least 145 URLs.

The majority of the 44 offending URLs are on Facebook, and included activists as well as online news sites. Prachatai’s Thai language Facebook page is included in the list, along with Voice TV’s Talking Thailand Facebook page and the Progressive Movement’s Facebook page. Prachatai reporter Sarayut Tungprasert’s Facebook profile is also on the list.

https://prachatai.com/english/node/9443

The junta didn't publish it ... must be fake ...

[buksida]

THAILAND NEEDS LESS, NOT MORE CENSORSHIP
he Thai state always tries to not just censor what they see is unfit for public consumption and it is literally keeping the public from maturing and becoming self-reliant. That suits them very well.

The latest is a warning by police spokesman Col. Kissana Phattanacharoen on Monday that watching the popular Korean series “Squid Game” could drive viewers to commit crimes and suggests the government may attempt to censor the Netflix series.

“It may lead to imitation, cause viewers to have violent behavior, or result in viewers to imagine that they are in similar situations shown in the series,” Kissana was quoted as saying, adding that parents or “guardians” should “exercise control and monitor the use of social media and entertainment” of young people.

Note the key words: “guardian”, “control” and “monitor.” This unconsciously sums up what the Thai state has been doing to not just to “control” young populations but adults as well.

The Thai state tries to exert control through censorship and surveillance and think of themselves as the guardian of the people.

The anachronistic lese-majeste law aside, with over 140 people charged so far, many were young Thais activists, we see censorship on other domains of our daily life as well.

Those watching Thai television for a period of time would not fail to notice that any graphic display of alcoholic drinks, cigarette smoking and nudity have to be blurred. “Smoking is detrimental to one’s health,” a typical text would warn television viewers. “Drinking is detrimental to one’s health and reduces awareness.”

The same goes with gambling. There’s a warning text telling viewers that gambling is illegal. Knives and guns are also blurred and violent scenes come with a warning that it’s illegal should not to be imitated.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/ ... ensorship/

[handdrummer]

Soon they will be banning K-Pop musical groups ala China. If it weren't for China, Thais wouldn't know what to do about anything. Oh well, anything is easier than thinking.

[buksida]

Thailand 16th among Google removal rank
Thailand has made 1,147 requests for Google to take down content since 2011 with 95.2% related to government criticism -- the highest rate in the world.

The information was shown in the latest study by Surfshark, a virtual private network (VPN) firm, which analysed Google's Transparency Report.

With a total of 1,147 requests for content removal from Facebook, the country was ranked 16th in the world in terms of the number of requests.

"A massive 95.2% of these requests cite 'Government Criticism' as the reason -- as an overall percentage, that's more than any other country," Surfshark said in a statement.

For 2020 alone, Thailand saw 184 requests for content removal.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/22 ... moval-rank

[buksida]

Govt adopts multi-level approach to fake news
The government will set up centres at three different levels to coordinate efforts to deal with fake news on social media, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved the draft of a Prime Minister's Office regulation to crack down on fake news and false information on social media to ensure the public receives correct information, the spokesman said.

Under the new regulation, the three centres will be established to integrate efforts to tackle fake news, Mr Thanakorn said.

The permanent secretary's office of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) will establish a central coordination centre which will act as a main centre, while each ministry will also set up its own coordination centre to tackle the problem.

The Provincial Administration Department under the Interior Ministry will also set up such centres in each province with provincial governors or deputy provincial governors in charge, Mr Thanakorn said.

In the event fake news is detected, concerned officials under the new regulation must alert the public immediately and inform the Department of Public Relations within one hour to correct the news and and take swift legal action against those involved in spreading false information, he said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -fake-news

In Thailand, 'fake news' = anything critical of the ruling regime.

[handdrummer]

Aside from criticism of the regime how will they know if it's "fake news?"

3 depts co-ordinating? That could be a Monty Python skit.

[Nereus]

Send firewall up in smoke

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opi ... p-in-smoke

The government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is known to be infatuated with the idea of introducing a "Great Firewall" of its own to censor internet content.

A year after the coup-installed junta came to power in 2014, the idea of installing a single gateway internet in the interest of national security was floated in 2015.

In the end, the single internet gateway never materialised due to heavy public resistance. But like old soldiers who refuse to die easily, the idea resurfaced last week.

For the latest round, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) Chaiwut Thanakamanusornis said at the House debate last Friday the government is studying a national internet gateway (NIG) under a plan to deal with cyber crime.

He said such crime is on the rise, partly because the government only has a limited capacity to block information deemed illegal in Thailand from reaching target audiences.

Such an explanation is misleading -- and disturbing.

Cyber crime is a global phenomenon that take place everywhere. Nevertheless, governments around the world -- with the exception of authoritarian states such as China, North Korea and, now, Cambodia -- do not construct national firewalls just to catch cyber villains.

These governments knew what side effects a firewall would have in terms of destroying the free flow of information and seamless global connectivity -- the very qualities that make the World Wide Web so valuable and successful.

Most countries with low rates of cyber crime do not need or use an internet firewall. According to digital data protection company SEON, Germany, the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom are among the top five countries with the lowest risk of cyber crime.

At the opposite end of the scale, Myanmar and Cambodia had the highest risk of cyber crime.

Interestingly, China ranked 36th, and Thailand 60th out of 100 countries.

Cambodia announced last year that it would join China in setting up a national internet firewall. But its plan to launch the NIG last week was eventually put on hold.

The question the government and DES need to answer is whether a national firewall will deliver what they say it will. Moreover, does the government have enough capacity to run such a project?

This would require immense resources, in terms of well-trained manpower and advanced software and hardware, the likes of which only a superpower such as China can easily muster.

Without the proper management and know-how, this would result in bottlenecks slowing down the local internet network, negatively affecting digital and business activities.

Cyber thieves -- or just regular netizens -- could still rely on other methods such as an easily downloadable virtual private network (VPN) to evade the firewall and access whatever information they are seeking.

Rather than imposing a tool to control information and further intrude on the freedom of the press, Thailand can follow in the footsteps of Denmark and Germany by making its digital laws stronger, educating the public to be more digitally literate, and penalising those in the state or private sector who fail to protect people's data.

There's simply no need for a Great Firewall of Thailand.

[PeteC]

https://www.thaienquirer.com/40529/thai ... rs-office/

Thailand is setting up and recruiting hackers and engineers to safeguard the country’s digital infrastructure after persistent hacks targeting the country’s defense and leadership ministries throughout 2021.

According to several well placed sources in the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the Ministry of Defense, the government has been recruiting graduates in Computer Science and influential tech entrepreneurs over the last six months.

This was in response to attacks by a hacker group known as Threat Activity Group 16 [TAG 16] which targeted the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Defense, the Royal Thai Army, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

TAG 16, according to one cybersecurity expert, has close ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army linked group known in the community as Red Foxtrot.

“They haven’t only targeted Thailand but government websites and servers across Southeast Asia including those in Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia,” the experts aid on condition of anonymity.

According to the expert, government servers infected with TAG 16 code and malware, including known viruses such as FunnyDream and Chinoxy, continue to communicate with the hackers who are located in China.

“We don’t know who they are selling the information to, it could be to Beijing and this could be a state-sponsored activity or they could be selling it to third party buyers in the defense industry,” he said.

What is clear though is that Thailand, as are the rest of the countries affected by the hacking, are aware of the threat and have begun to increase their cybersecurity programs.

“The problem in Thailand is that the government are so far behind in their cybersecurity capabilities that it will take some time to catch up,” the expert added.

“That means in the meanwhile, the government servers are basically an open book.”