Thailand Lifts Ban on YouTube after Deal

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister yesterday denied any knowledge of two Thais being arrested under the new Computer Crime Act for posting offensive comments about the monarchy.Published on September 2, 2007

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The arrest was reported on the front page of the Financial Times' weekend edition. The paper quoted a senior official as saying that "in recent weeks, authorities have used a new computer crime law to arrest two Thais, now in custody, for offensive comments about the monarchy on Internet chat rooms".

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The Computer Crime Act, proposed by the ICT Ministry, took effect recently and allows police to seize computers of people suspected of disseminating "insulting or pornographic" content.

The law raised concerns among both local and international human rights organisations such as Reporters Without Borders, which said it might result in an increasingly restrictive policy towards free expression online.

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Still, nobody has come out looking good. The MICT and the entire junta have exposed their hypocritical and outmoded way of thinking. The junta are so used to censoring and intimidating anyone who disagrees with their view, they had no method of communication or debate with an agency they could not control.

And while youtube is the most prominent example, it is far from isolated. MICT (or rather now "voluntary" censorship by ISP's) is huge. Web sites can be blocked for any number of reasons, all of which are classed as "a threat to national security". Midnight University, a chat forum for Thai students, was closed down after it was critical of the coup in Thailand. Many sites remain blocked and others are falling victim to the censors each day.

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In recent weeks, authorities have used a new law to arrest two Thais for what were deemed particularly offensive comments about the monarchy on internet chatrooms, a senior Thai official told the FT.

But Michael Montesano, a National University of Singapore professor of south-east Asian studies, said old taboos were gradually being broken. "In terms of lèse-majesté, there has been slow but clear movement towards more open discussion of the monarchy's role in politics in the media in Thailand," he said.

"References in Bangkok's English language press to 'royalist forces' and 'royalist perspectives' are becoming common," Mr Montesano said. "This is to say nothing of the often shrill discussion of the monarchy on Thai-language web-boards."

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Net surfers are worried about Phraya Phichai as no one has been able to contact him since late last month when a rumour spread that he had been arrested. Many posted comments on www.prachatai.com, a site for alternative news, doubting that he might be one of the two people arrested under the new Computer Crime Act as reported by the Financial Times.

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The unclear information about the arrests and the disappearance of Phraya Phichai has created an uneasy atmosphere. Some net surfers were worried about being lured by police to post offensive comments against the monarchy, and some said Phraya Phichai was on line again recently.

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