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Thailand taps Facebook users to spy on each other, report ‘inappropriate messages’
By Michael Tegos
Nov 4, 2016
Internet service providers in Thailand are encouraging citizens to report “inappropriate comments” on emails and social media, particularly those posted on Facebook, Line, and YouTube.
The leaflets look like this:
The literature comes from Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the country’s telecoms regulator. It calls for people to “collaborate to suppress inappropriate messages,” without really defining what these are. It includes instructions on how to report them using each platform’s tools and then contact the NBTC.
Tech in Asia spoke with a few internet users in Thailand. They found the leaflet strange, considering there’s already a Technology Crime Suppression Division within the Royal Thai Police that’s responsible for tracking down offensive online content.
While not explicitly mentioned, it’s likely this is related to Thailand’s strict “lèse majesté” laws. Specifically, article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code makes it illegal for anyone to express negative views about the country’s royal family. If you’re wondering how extensive this is, in August a woman was charged under article 112 for replying “yes” to a Facebook post that criticized the monarchy.
According to Reuters, Thai ISPs started requesting their customers to report “content offensive to the royal institution” a few days after King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on October 13.
In late October, the Bangkok Post said that around “100 web addresses” on YouTube had been blocked for insulting the monarchy in what the government called a “joint blocking effort” with Google.
Editing by Osman Husain
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Thai internet operators urge customers to report royal insults
A portrait of Thailand's late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is seen at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre which is closed following the death of the king, in Bangkok, Thailand October 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
By Patpicha Tanakasempipat | BANGKOK
Source: REUTERS
Oct 16, 2016
Thailand's main mobile telecoms operators instructed customers on Sunday to report "inappropriate content about the royal institution", as the government steps up scrutiny for material deemed insulting to the monarchy.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on Thursday after seven decades on the throne. His son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, is due to become the next king after a period of mourning.
Thailand has a tough law against lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy. Convictions have become more frequent, and punishments more severe, under a military government that seized power in 2014.
Mobile operators Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) , Total Access Communication Pcl and True Move, a unit of True Corp, posted instructions on a messaging app and on their Facebook pages, for how to report Facebook posts and Youtube videos.
True said it was following a request from the broadcasting regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
"The NBTC has asked all mobile operators to send the instruction to our clients," Pimolpan Siriwongwan-ngam, True's head of public relations, told Reuters.
"We’re only acting as channels to spread the message."
Spokeswomen for AIS and Total Access confirmed they had followed the NBTC guideline.
The operators said people should send URLs or screenshots of websites deemed offensive to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and the NBTC.
On Friday, the NBTC said it had asked internet service providers to monitor content and block anything inappropriate.
Operators must also inform platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and messaging apps, to block such content.
The failure of internet providers to block inappropriate content when it is found would be considered a crime, NBCT secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said in a statement.
Information ministry spokesman Chatchai Khunpitiluck said some content hurt the feelings of people grieving for the revered king.
"Many heartbroken Thais are quite sensitive. When they see illegal content that offends them, they'll be more stressed," he said. "We have to let them know about channels to report content to relieve their sense of helplessness."
Chatchai said more people had come across content they deemed inappropriate, partly because more people were going online to read about the king since his death.
Police and the MICT declined to say how many complaints they had received.
The government had a hotline for reporting content, Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, told Reuters. Police said they were intensifying monitoring the internet.
(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak and Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by John Chalmers)
Thailand's main mobile telecoms operators instructed customers on Sunday to report "inappropriate content about the royal institution", as the government steps up scrutiny for material deemed insulting to the monarchy.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on Thursday after seven decades on the throne. His son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, is due to become the next king after a period of mourning.
Thailand has a tough law against lese majeste, or insulting the monarchy. Convictions have become more frequent, and punishments more severe, under a military government that seized power in 2014.
Mobile operators Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) , Total Access Communication Pcl and True Move, a unit of True Corp, posted instructions on a messaging app and on their Facebook pages, for how to report Facebook posts and Youtube videos.
True said it was following a request from the broadcasting regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
"The NBTC has asked all mobile operators to send the instruction to our clients," Pimolpan Siriwongwan-ngam, True's head of public relations, told Reuters.
"We’re only acting as channels to spread the message."
Spokeswomen for AIS and Total Access confirmed they had followed the NBTC guideline.
The operators said people should send URLs or screenshots of websites deemed offensive to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and the NBTC.
On Friday, the NBTC said it had asked internet service providers to monitor content and block anything inappropriate.
Operators must also inform platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and messaging apps, to block such content.
The failure of internet providers to block inappropriate content when it is found would be considered a crime, NBCT secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said in a statement.
Information ministry spokesman Chatchai Khunpitiluck said some content hurt the feelings of people grieving for the revered king.
"Many heartbroken Thais are quite sensitive. When they see illegal content that offends them, they'll be more stressed," he said. "We have to let them know about channels to report content to relieve their sense of helplessness."
Chatchai said more people had come across content they deemed inappropriate, partly because more people were going online to read about the king since his death.
Police and the MICT declined to say how many complaints they had received.
The government had a hotline for reporting content, Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana, minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, told Reuters. Police said they were intensifying monitoring the internet.
(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak and Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by John Chalmers)
