Thailand

Overview

More than one-quarter of Thai people use the Internet. Thailand employs a variety of tactics to monitor and block content, especially lese majeste material, content that constitutes an offense against the dignity of the royal family. The 2007 Computer Crime Act imposes harsh penalties for those who post potentially threatening information and holds third party websites responsible for content posted by their users. The government actively filters the Internet, and during violent political protests in 2010, the government took emergency powers and blocked several websites relating to the opposition without court approval. These tactics, and the deep-seated cultural value of lese majeste, have chilled expression online.

Access

Around a quarter of Thai citizens are online. Some, particularly those in Bangkok, can access high-speed Internet at home or at cyber cafes. Until 2006, the state-run Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT) operated the nation’s only Internet exchange point. There are now nine exchange points, with the CAT operating only two. In 2010, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) replaced the National Telecommunications Commission as the country’s independent industry regulator. The Senate-appointed commission includes officials from the military, police, bureaucracy, and civil society. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) oversees ICT policy throughout the country, including those related to Internet filtering.

Control

The Thai government has used legislation, court orders, and extrajudicial authority to restrict online speech, leading many netizens to self-censor. In 2002, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) created a Cyber Inspector unit that filters content relating to pornography, gambling, terrorism, separatist movements, and criticism of the monarchy. The last category—called lese majeste—has driven an increase in censorship and, since 2008, state-run Internet gateways have primarily filtered URLs relating to such content. The 2007 Computer Crime Act empowers the government to block online information, seize computer equipment, and punish people who use computers to commit crimes, spread pornography, or post information “likely to damage the country's security or cause a public panic.” The law extends the same penalty to Internet service providers as it does to individuals, chilling free expression online. Outside of criticizing the monarchy, however, Thai netizens enjoy relative freedom to debate political, social, and human rights topics online.

Activity

In 2010, the Thai government created a cyber scout program to encourage people to monitor the web for content that threatens national security or the monarchy. A Social Sanction network persecutes online users who criticize the monarchy, sometimes triggering official investigations. The majority of cases filed under the 2007 Computer Crime Act (CCA) relate to content posted online, not traditional computer crimes such as hacking or fraud. In 2012, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, editor of the popular news site Prachatai, received an eight-month prison sentence for leaving a lese majeste comment on the website for 20 days, which a judge deemed too long. Digital rights organizations such as the Thai Netizen Network (TNN) and Freedom Against Censorship in Thailand (FACT) advocate for digital governance, privacy rights, and freedom of expression online.

Around a quarter of Thai citizens are online. Some, particularly those in Bangkok, can access high-speed Internet at home or at cyber cafes. Until 2006, the state-run Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT) operated the nation’s only Internet exchange point. There are now nine exchange points, with the CAT operating only two. In 2010, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) replaced the National Telecommunications Commission as the country’s independent industry regulator. The Senate-appointed commission includes officials from the military, police, bureaucracy, and civil society. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) oversees ICT policy throughout the country, including those related to Internet filtering.

The Thai government has used legislation, court orders, and extrajudicial authority to restrict online speech, leading many netizens to self-censor. In 2002, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) created a Cyber Inspector unit that filters content relating to pornography, gambling, terrorism, separatist movements, and criticism of the monarchy. The last category—called lese majeste—has driven an increase in censorship and, since 2008, state-run Internet gateways have primarily filtered URLs relating to such content. The 2007 Computer Crime Act empowers the government to block online information, seize computer equipment, and punish people who use computers to commit crimes, spread pornography, or post information “likely to damage the country's security or cause a public panic.” The law extends the same penalty to Internet service providers as it does to individuals, chilling free expression online. Outside of criticizing the monarchy, however, Thai netizens enjoy relative freedom to debate political, social, and human rights topics online.

In 2010, the Thai government created a cyber scout program to encourage people to monitor the web for content that threatens national security or the monarchy. A Social Sanction network persecutes online users who criticize the monarchy, sometimes triggering official investigations. The majority of cases filed under the 2007 Computer Crime Act (CCA) relate to content posted online, not traditional computer crimes such as hacking or fraud. In 2012, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, editor of the popular news site Prachatai, received an eight-month prison sentence for leaving a lese majeste comment on the website for 20 days, which a judge deemed too long. Digital rights organizations such as the Thai Netizen Network (TNN) and Freedom Against Censorship in Thailand (FACT) advocate for digital governance, privacy rights, and freedom of expression online.