AS online censorship concerns mount in Thailand, activists in the country released a document Wednesday that purportedly details a meeting in which government officials urged Google staff to comply with content removal requests without waiting for court orders.
Thai online freedom advocates was responsible for uploading the document on Facebook. It allegedly describes a meeting between the government’s self-styled “Media Reform Committee” and Google Vice President General Counsel Matt Sucherman, reported Khaosod English.
As the document told it, the Thai committee wanted Google to circumvent its usual censorship process – meaning, to speedily expunge content flagged as illegal by the government without receiving a go-ahead from the courts.
“We would like Google to expedite the process of website removal once it is requested by qualified authorities to save from the possible damage of time, as it will not correct the situation if we wait for the court process,” said the government committee.
The document revealed that Google refused to budge, ruling out making a procedural exception for Thailand. As a matter of global policy, the company does not take down content unless formally ordered by a court.
The committee, according to the document, pressed Google to consider the U.S.-Thailand relationship, and explicitly offered to help Google with its business in the country.
“Also if there is any problem or concern about Google’s business in Thailand, and you want us to help, please let the Thai government know. The committee is ready to push and help as much as we can,” it said.
This new development comes after the recent revelation that Thai police intend to spend over US$300,000 to set up a social media surveillance system. The system would monitor posts and track users on Facebook, Twitter, and Pantip (a massively popular online forum in Thailand).
Thailand already has one of the strictest Internet censorship regimes in Southeast Asia. Freedom House, a U.S. civil liberties watchdog organization, scored Thailand at 63 for Internet freedom in 2015 (the higher score, the less free the country). That puts it behind neighbors Malaysia (43), Singapore (41), Indonesia (42), and Cambodia (48).
Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/01/ ... -document/
Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
"Online Censorship Rears Its Ugly Head In Southeast Asia
With a growing middle class rising up across its population of more than 600 million people, Southeast Asia is truly a growth market. Added to that, the influx of mobile devices bringing Internet to hundreds of millions of people for the first — and putting it right in their pocket, no less — makes it a particularly exciting place for technology, which has the potential to be hugely transformative.
Unfortunately, while tech may be blazing a trail that includes improving communications, increasing access to resources, making payment methods more robust and more, attitudes across the region can be major hurdles that hinder development. Particularly from governments and other authorities.
To make that point clear, three prominent and very different examples of censorship from countries across the region made headlines last week.
Content Deemed Unsuitable
Indonesia grabbed the somewhat unwanted accolade of becoming the first country to block Netflix following its monster 130 country expansion announced in early January.
Telekom Indonesia blocked the service “from all of its platforms” last week, according to the Jakarta Post. While the government distanced itself from involvement, the state-run mobile operator’s concern focused around Netflix’s ability to run violent and adult content without adhering to content moderation regulations in the country, which has the world’s largest muslim population.
The company also lacks a permit to do business in Indonesia — a problem that Uber and local rival Grab know well enough — which was cited as another reason. So, if you think challenges with licensing in your country are responsible for Netflix running a small library of content, imagine what it’s like in Indonesia where a lack of paperwork is responsible for switching off access to the service in its entirety for users.
For a reminder of how random/unclear bans can be in Indonesia, refer to motorbike taxi services, which were blocked then unblocked during a 24-hour period last month.
You Can’t Write That About Us
Example two comes from Malaysia, where Medium was blocked for carrying an investigate report delving into corruption claims related to Prime Minister Najib.
The media outlet — Sarawak Report — regularly publishes stories on Medium because its website is already blocked in Malaysia, but its latest report appeared to be enough to push authorities to take action. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission contacted Medium asking that the post be removed for being “false, unsubstantiated, misleading, and in violation of the written law of Malaysia.”
Medium stood firm, however, claiming that it stands by the report and investigative journalism generally.
“Medium’s in no position to evaluate the truth of the Sarawak Report’s Medium post. We’ve received no evidence that the post violates any of our Rules, or any law,” the company wrote in a blog post.
Since it uses HTTPS to secure its site, Malaysian authorities were left with the choice of leaving the post as it is, since Medium wouldn’t remove it, or blocking the website entirely. It look the latter choice, so now the publishing platform is no longer available in the country. Quite absurd.
Give Us All Your Data
Exhibit three comes from Thailand, where the government — which came to power via a military coup in 2014 — is pressuring leading Internet companies Google, Facebook and chat app Line, which has over 30 million users in the country, to censor content on their services.
Thailand has cracked down hard on dissenting voices online since the coup — last week a politician was arrested for sharing a video mocking junta leader (and Prime Minister) Prayuth Chan-ocha — and it is reported to be developing a single internet gateway. If deployed, such a system would allow authorities to directly control the availability of online content without needing to liaise with mobile operators, ISPs or Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Line.
The Internet has the potential to positively impact life in this vibrant part of the world, but these three examples — and there are countless that are thrown up each week — show the kind of challenges that push back on progress."
http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/31/southe ... hCrunch%29
With a growing middle class rising up across its population of more than 600 million people, Southeast Asia is truly a growth market. Added to that, the influx of mobile devices bringing Internet to hundreds of millions of people for the first — and putting it right in their pocket, no less — makes it a particularly exciting place for technology, which has the potential to be hugely transformative.
Unfortunately, while tech may be blazing a trail that includes improving communications, increasing access to resources, making payment methods more robust and more, attitudes across the region can be major hurdles that hinder development. Particularly from governments and other authorities.
To make that point clear, three prominent and very different examples of censorship from countries across the region made headlines last week.
Content Deemed Unsuitable
Indonesia grabbed the somewhat unwanted accolade of becoming the first country to block Netflix following its monster 130 country expansion announced in early January.
Telekom Indonesia blocked the service “from all of its platforms” last week, according to the Jakarta Post. While the government distanced itself from involvement, the state-run mobile operator’s concern focused around Netflix’s ability to run violent and adult content without adhering to content moderation regulations in the country, which has the world’s largest muslim population.
The company also lacks a permit to do business in Indonesia — a problem that Uber and local rival Grab know well enough — which was cited as another reason. So, if you think challenges with licensing in your country are responsible for Netflix running a small library of content, imagine what it’s like in Indonesia where a lack of paperwork is responsible for switching off access to the service in its entirety for users.
For a reminder of how random/unclear bans can be in Indonesia, refer to motorbike taxi services, which were blocked then unblocked during a 24-hour period last month.
You Can’t Write That About Us
Example two comes from Malaysia, where Medium was blocked for carrying an investigate report delving into corruption claims related to Prime Minister Najib.
The media outlet — Sarawak Report — regularly publishes stories on Medium because its website is already blocked in Malaysia, but its latest report appeared to be enough to push authorities to take action. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission contacted Medium asking that the post be removed for being “false, unsubstantiated, misleading, and in violation of the written law of Malaysia.”
Medium stood firm, however, claiming that it stands by the report and investigative journalism generally.
“Medium’s in no position to evaluate the truth of the Sarawak Report’s Medium post. We’ve received no evidence that the post violates any of our Rules, or any law,” the company wrote in a blog post.
Since it uses HTTPS to secure its site, Malaysian authorities were left with the choice of leaving the post as it is, since Medium wouldn’t remove it, or blocking the website entirely. It look the latter choice, so now the publishing platform is no longer available in the country. Quite absurd.
Give Us All Your Data
Exhibit three comes from Thailand, where the government — which came to power via a military coup in 2014 — is pressuring leading Internet companies Google, Facebook and chat app Line, which has over 30 million users in the country, to censor content on their services.
Thailand has cracked down hard on dissenting voices online since the coup — last week a politician was arrested for sharing a video mocking junta leader (and Prime Minister) Prayuth Chan-ocha — and it is reported to be developing a single internet gateway. If deployed, such a system would allow authorities to directly control the availability of online content without needing to liaise with mobile operators, ISPs or Internet companies like Google, Facebook and Line.
The Internet has the potential to positively impact life in this vibrant part of the world, but these three examples — and there are countless that are thrown up each week — show the kind of challenges that push back on progress."
http://techcrunch.com/2016/01/31/southe ... hCrunch%29
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
Re: Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
The funny thing is that the one thing that could make Thais rebel against the tyranny of their current Government is if they blocked free access to the internet, which they seem intent on doing, thus hastening their own demise!
Talk is cheap
Re: Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
^ Agreed. The genie is already out of the bottle on this. The dinosaurs that hold sway haven't figured out yet that they can be tolerated in power but don't screw with peoples' internet access......especially social media and search engines.
The other cause of their undoing could come from the economy and it, money and the internet seem to be all that anyone is really bothered about now, although not always in that order.
The other cause of their undoing could come from the economy and it, money and the internet seem to be all that anyone is really bothered about now, although not always in that order.
Resolve dissolves in alcohol
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- Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2012 1:38 pm
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Re: Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
The almost complete lack of action on mainstream and high profile corruption could be the 3rd nail in the coffin.
"'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
Re: Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
Thai junta push Google, Facebook and Line to scrub web
Thailand's junta is ramping up pressure on internet giants Google and Facebook -- and the popular messaging app Line -- to scrub the country's web of any content it dislikes, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The military seized power in a 2014 coup and has launched the harshest rights crackdowns in decades, arresting critics, muzzling the media and banning political gatherings or protests.
The web, in particular social media, has remained one of the few avenues open to Thais to speak out -- though not without risks. Prosecutions for lese majeste, so-called computer crimes and sedition have soared with many arrested for online posts.
Junta officials are now seeking face-to-face meetings with major web companies to try and speed up how quickly they take down objectionable content.
Police Major General Pisit Paoin, from the junta’s committee on mass media reform, said officials would meet with Google, Facebook and Line over the next three months "to ask for their co-operation in dealing with illegal images or clips that affect security and the nation’s core institution," a euphemism for the monarchy.
"There have been tens of thousand of the illegal posts over the past five years", he told AFP.
Officials held the first of their meetings with Google recently. Minutes of that meeting were leaked last week by hackers and later published widely by local media showing Thai officials are pushing for big web companies to agree to takedowns without a court order.
Pisit said large web companies have reacted with reluctance over the past five years to previous requests to censor content.
"We have received better response from Google in the US (since the meeting)," he said. "Now we plan on talking with Line and Facebook."
Globally web firms must comply with local laws and routinely block content within that country if presented with a court order.
But the leaked minutes suggest the Thai junta want a far more lenient standard adopted.
In a statement Line said it "has yet to be contacted by an official entity requesting such censorship" but added that "the privacy of LINE users is our top priority".
"Once we have been officially contacted, we will perform our due diligence towards the related parties and consider an appropriate solution that does not conflict with our company’s global standards, nor the laws of Thailand," the statement added.
The Japanese company is by far the most popular social messaging app in Thailand and is even used by many government ministries and police stations to officially brief media.
Last week a man was arrested for sharing a video allegedly mocking junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha with his friends on Line, suggesting Thai authorities are already monitoring the messenger for content it disapproves of.
Facebook and Google have yet to respond to AFP requests for comment.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakin ... 78350.html
Thailand's junta is ramping up pressure on internet giants Google and Facebook -- and the popular messaging app Line -- to scrub the country's web of any content it dislikes, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The military seized power in a 2014 coup and has launched the harshest rights crackdowns in decades, arresting critics, muzzling the media and banning political gatherings or protests.
The web, in particular social media, has remained one of the few avenues open to Thais to speak out -- though not without risks. Prosecutions for lese majeste, so-called computer crimes and sedition have soared with many arrested for online posts.
Junta officials are now seeking face-to-face meetings with major web companies to try and speed up how quickly they take down objectionable content.
Police Major General Pisit Paoin, from the junta’s committee on mass media reform, said officials would meet with Google, Facebook and Line over the next three months "to ask for their co-operation in dealing with illegal images or clips that affect security and the nation’s core institution," a euphemism for the monarchy.
"There have been tens of thousand of the illegal posts over the past five years", he told AFP.
Officials held the first of their meetings with Google recently. Minutes of that meeting were leaked last week by hackers and later published widely by local media showing Thai officials are pushing for big web companies to agree to takedowns without a court order.
Pisit said large web companies have reacted with reluctance over the past five years to previous requests to censor content.
"We have received better response from Google in the US (since the meeting)," he said. "Now we plan on talking with Line and Facebook."
Globally web firms must comply with local laws and routinely block content within that country if presented with a court order.
But the leaked minutes suggest the Thai junta want a far more lenient standard adopted.
In a statement Line said it "has yet to be contacted by an official entity requesting such censorship" but added that "the privacy of LINE users is our top priority".
"Once we have been officially contacted, we will perform our due diligence towards the related parties and consider an appropriate solution that does not conflict with our company’s global standards, nor the laws of Thailand," the statement added.
The Japanese company is by far the most popular social messaging app in Thailand and is even used by many government ministries and police stations to officially brief media.
Last week a man was arrested for sharing a video allegedly mocking junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha with his friends on Line, suggesting Thai authorities are already monitoring the messenger for content it disapproves of.
Facebook and Google have yet to respond to AFP requests for comment.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakin ... 78350.html
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: Thailand asked Google to make censorship easier
Freedom of speech and privacy are only a myth anyhow these days. Can't say what you want to almost everywhere now as you'll be arrested, censored or harassed by the authorities, the politically correct, those in denial, all matter of religious fanatics/morons or the radical left (who are everywhere).
So much is sanitized everywhere under duress as so many sections of society fear or do not want to hear, the truth...... or are scared of opinion.
As for privacy......not even worth getting started on it.
Seems these days that the only freedom we have left is freedom of thought. However, the more those from the previous generation that are in power in most places now try to tighten their grip......the more fervor will be witnessed in the resistance to it.
Those under 30 will not swallow it forever as they are already too used to having the freedoms that they have previously enjoyed. This is how revolutions start.
Change with the times or be swept away by it. History has repeatedly taught us this but so many repeatedly forget it.
You can't turn the clock back.....got to go boldly into the future and deal with the obvious change and challenges incoming.
So much is sanitized everywhere under duress as so many sections of society fear or do not want to hear, the truth...... or are scared of opinion.
As for privacy......not even worth getting started on it.
Seems these days that the only freedom we have left is freedom of thought. However, the more those from the previous generation that are in power in most places now try to tighten their grip......the more fervor will be witnessed in the resistance to it.
Those under 30 will not swallow it forever as they are already too used to having the freedoms that they have previously enjoyed. This is how revolutions start.
Change with the times or be swept away by it. History has repeatedly taught us this but so many repeatedly forget it.
You can't turn the clock back.....got to go boldly into the future and deal with the obvious change and challenges incoming.
Resolve dissolves in alcohol