Thailand to Build Its Own Boundless Firewall of Internet Censorship
A single gateway internet is to be set up in Thailand. This decision has been made by the Thai Government through the relevant ministries.
Thailand has been clear on its stand about websites that display overt pornography or tarnish the names of its leaders. However, the country’s internet has not been thoroughly censored when compared to China’s Internet. According to an endorsed government release, Thai internet censorship status is about to change. The release reports the country’s military government is purportedly establishing political basis for reforming the internet.
The release confirms that the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Police Department have been directed by the country’s Prime Minister to establish a single gateway internet. Basically, gateways link communication system to one another. The Thai Government will be in a better position of monitoring as well as controlling the internet coming into the country if at all the government proposed changes go through.
According to Telecom Asia, the cabinet compelled the above mentioned agencies to list any laws that must be amended before establishing the single gateway web, earlier this month. The inventive proposal was prepared at the mid-year in June. These shocking political movements were exhumed by a Twitter user who was going through government’s official cabinet resolves.
US Research Group Freedom House, in 2014 rated Thai as the 52nd least-free internet country out of 65. Thai completed the list slightly above the likes of China, Iran and Pakistan. Countries like China are known for their strict government censorship measures, well-known as the Great Firewall of China.
Before the Thai Government was overthrown, Thai officials mainly focused on censoring pornographic content. However, the Royal Thai Army in 2006 overthrew the government and established heavy internet censorship. This led to increased internet censorship in the country.
From 2006 henceforth, censorship in Thai has increased to include any content that defames or slurs the Royal Family or Thai Government in any way. The best example of Thai’s strict internet censorship was displayed through the banishment of the UK Sensationalist journalism news site – The Mail Online. In the previous year, the news site was banned for publishing a story concerning the Royal Family of Thailand.
Ideally, internet censorship is not a new subject in Thai. Successive governments including the military government have characteristically jammed media websites. The most common media sites to be blocked include YouTube for condemning the Royal Family or the Government. The above mentioned action is a crime, and according to Thai’s lese majestelaws, the crime faces harsh penalties.
Atypically, Thai’s decision to come up with a boundless firewall of internet censorship emerged after the China President’s visit to the US. The Chinese president met with tech bests, such as Facebook CEO to sightsee ways to open up China’s web. If you want to open your internet in any country, browse freely and remain anonymous use simple VPN anonymity tool.
