Asia's battle against the Internet

[buksida]

As the nations of Asia strive to compete with their Western counterparts in terms of economic prowess and technological advancement, a new battlefield is forming - and it lies in cyberspace. The battle is not between corporate giants for the next big deal, but between governments and the people fighting for their rights of freedom of speech online.

The Internet, since its birth in the mainstream in the late 1970s, has grown to become the most powerful communication tool the world has known. But with that power comes a danger - an overwhelming sense of control by some of the less democratic governments of the region.

Censorship of the Internet is becoming alarmingly commonplace among countries whose leadership depends on controlling the popular world view. Along with the desire to control comes a sense of fear and foreboding over the unknowns that lie in cyberspace, and more taxpayer's money is being spent on suppressing it today than ever before. One interesting statistic (from The Financial Times) is that eight of the top 10 most heavily censored countries are in Asia.

A relative newcomer to the Internet-suppressing nations of Asia is Thailand. With more than 40,000 websites blocked, the majority in the past six months, it is evident that the Thai authorities are looking to their neighbors for the way forward in controlling what people look at when they go online. Initially, Internet censorship in Thailand targeted adult websites and pornography, but in a rapidly increasing trend since the coup last September 19, more and more websites critical of the junta, the monarchy or the Buddhist religion have disappeared from public view within the kingdom.

Full Story: Asia Times Online

[PeteC]

Censorship of the Internet is becoming alarmingly commonplace among countries whose leadership depends on controlling the popular world view.

A good phrase to remember and use in converstations when warranted. Pete

[buksida]

I thought this was quite apt too:

"2007 may well be the 21st century's '1984' in Thailand"

[The understudy]

Hallo There

These are facts that are for some hard to swallow and for others simply jaw dropping just before Buksidas quote!

[quote: Asia Times)"By last October, the Thai Ministry of Information and Communication Technology had blocked 2,475 websites; by January 11 this number had risen to 13,435, a jump of more than 400%. According to the Freedom Against Censorship Thailand"

On the surface everything seems to be allright and OK. That's what the Junta Govt wants us to believe but under the surface of this allright world are people who want stand up and want to speak up but kept silent @ short leach. and many of the Junta, Anti Governmental and foreign News websites critical of the Govt. had also been censored.
It's just a mattter of time when the young Thai renegades who long for Information that they don't get in Thailand find other ways to get around the censroship to their information in one way or another!


[/quote]

[STEVE G]

By last October, the Thai Ministry of Information and Communication Technology had blocked 2,475 websites; by January 11 this number had risen to 13,435, a jump of more than 400%. According to the Freedom Against Censorship Thailand

The website of the organisation named above has some interesting information on this topic, I imagine it's blocked in Thailand so I'll leave out the link, but if anyone is interested you can find it through Google.

[Norseman]

No it's not blocked here: http://facthai.wordpress.com/
Even Wikipedia is open.

As long as the language is NOT Thai I guess they assume most Thais can't read the site and thus it remains open.

[Farang]

'
It was a dark and stormy 1984. The Ministery of Peace conducted the wars and aggressions.
The Ministery of Plenty made rations ever smaller. The Ministery of Truth concocted lies
and falsified the truths. The Ministery of Love tortured and killed.

And now, in Thailand, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is blocking websites.

Attaboy!
,

[JimboPSM]

Censorship of the Internet is becoming alarmingly commonplace among countries whose leadership depends on controlling the popular world view.

A good phrase to remember and use in conversations when warranted. Pete

Hmm... would it be warranted in this case?

From Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272014,00.html

Defense Department Blocks YouTube, MySpace From Military Computers

Monday , May 14, 2007

AP

DENVER — Soldiers serving overseas will lose some of their online links to friends and loved ones back home under a Department of Defense policy that a high-ranking Army official said would take effect Monday.

The Defense Department will begin blocking access "worldwide" to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks, according to a memo sent Friday by Gen. B.B. Bell, the U.S. Forces Korea commander.

The policy is being implemented to protect information and reduce drag on the department's networks, according to Bell.

"This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge," the memo said.

Pentagon officials said Monday the policy will not restrict servicemen and women from sending and receiving e-mails on Defense Department-run portals. The new policy is aimed only at restricting entertainment-only sites that take up a large amount of bandwidth, and others that can open up department computers to hackers and viruses.

Pentagon officials also said that members of the military can access the restricted sites from home, just not through military accounts.

The armed services have long barred members of the military from sharing information that could jeopardize their missions or safety, whether electronically or by other means.

The new policy is different because it creates a blanket ban on several sites used by military personnel to exchange messages, pictures, video and audio with family and friends.

Members of the military can still access the sites on their own computers and networks, but Defense Department computers and networks are the only ones available to many soldiers and sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iraqi insurgents or their supporters have been posting videos on YouTube at least since last fall. The Army recently began posting videos on YouTube showing soldiers defeating insurgents and befriending Iraqis.

But the new rules mean many military personnel won't be able to watch those achievements — at least not on military computers.

If the restrictions are intended to prevent soldiers from giving or receiving bad news, they could also prevent them from providing positive reports from the field, said Noah Shachtman, who runs a national security blog for Wired Magazine.

"This is as much an information war as it is bombs and bullets," he said. "And they are muzzling their best voices."

The sites covered by the ban are the video-sharing sites YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos, and FileCabi, the social networking sites MySpace, BlackPlanet and Hi5, music sites Pandora, MTV, and 1.fm, and live365, and the photo-sharing site Photobucket.

Several companies have instituted similar bans, saying recreational sites drain productivity.

FOXNews.com is owned and operated by News Corporation, which also owns and operates MySpace.com.

[buksida]

Several companies have instituted similar bans, saying recreational sites drain productivity.

The sites above are blocked for an entirely different reason, its all very well if a corporation wants to prevent its employees wasting time online when they should be working but when a government wants to prevent its people gaining knowledge or, god forbid, a different political viewpoint then the human rights issues come into play.

[Big Boy]

its all very well if a corporation wants to prevent its employees wasting time online when they should be working

Its a fair cop guv

[buksida]

Guilty myself BB !

Thats what the net is for, entertainment, knowledge, research, information!

Will have to look at censorship issues in Malaysia if thats to be my new home when Thailand turns the internet off completely in a couple of years.

[STEVE G]

its all very well if a corporation wants to prevent its employees wasting time online when they should be working

Its a fair cop guv :oops:

Yes, I could never waste this much of my own time on the internet!

[sargeant]

Hi BB i am hoping to beat you back to LOS 11 weeks for you it will be interesting to see how long it takes me to get a plumber/watchrepairman (ticker) to finish his work
oh and the other system i pmd you about is possible but you need thingys like birth certificates etc which i dont possess oh and stay regd with your uk doctor
hopefully see you for a glass in LOS

[caller]

A wider view on net censorship from the Beeb - although LOS is in there:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6665945.stm#list

[lomuamart]

Hi BB i am hoping to beat you back to LOS 11 weeks for you it will be interesting to see how long it takes me to get a plumber/watchrepairman (ticker) to finish his work
oh and the other system i pmd you about is possible but you need thingys like birth certificates etc which i dont possess oh and stay regd with your uk doctor
hopefully see you for a glass in LOS

We are not really interested, Sarge.
We will all welcome you back to the LOS, but you shouldn't have a go at good people.
Give it a break.