Amidst
lingering
political
uncertainty,
Thailand’s censorship of the Internet continues
to be a contested and controversial policy
because the legal basis for filtering and actual
filtering practices are not transparent.
Background
In the aftermath of a military coup that followed
years of heightened fear and self-censorship, the
Internet community in Thailand continues to face
uncertainties created by censorship policies,
antiquated laws, regulatory reform, and the privatization of state-owned telecoms. Considered by
many to have inaugurated Internet filtering in
Thailand, former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra pursued aggressive censorship policies and, through his family-owned Shin
Corporation, orchestrated a series of defamation
suits against his critics. 1 After Thaksin was
deposed in a military coup on September 19,
2006, the interim government abrogated the
1997 Constitution, abolished the Constitutional
Court, and imposed a series of restrictions on
news reporting and political activity that threatened national solidarity. 2
Internet in Thailand
Internet usage in Thailand began with a small
base and has increased sixfold over the past five
years.
3
Initially, rather than encouraging growth of
the Internet for all people, the government used
and developed it only for state academic institutions and government agencies. 4
The total number of Internet users in 2005
was estimated at 12,500,000, representing an
Internet penetration rate of approximately 19 percent. 5 However, homes and businesses in
Bangkok and other major cities make up most of
the penetration rate, and there is little Internet
connectivity in surrounding areas. 6 In 2004,
about 15 percent of schools had access to the
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
No evidence
Suspected
Selective
Substantial
Pervasive
Filtering
of filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
Political
●
Social
●
Conflict/security
●
Internet tools
●
Other factors
Low
Medium
High
Not applicable
Transparency
●
Consistency
●
Thailand
lingering
political
uncertainty,
Thailand’s censorship of the Internet continues
to be a contested and controversial policy
because the legal basis for filtering and actual
filtering practices are not transparent.
Background
In the aftermath of a military coup that followed
years of heightened fear and self-censorship, the
Internet community in Thailand continues to face
uncertainties created by censorship policies,
antiquated laws, regulatory reform, and the privatization of state-owned telecoms. Considered by
many to have inaugurated Internet filtering in
Thailand, former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra pursued aggressive censorship policies and, through his family-owned Shin
Corporation, orchestrated a series of defamation
suits against his critics. 1 After Thaksin was
deposed in a military coup on September 19,
2006, the interim government abrogated the
1997 Constitution, abolished the Constitutional
Court, and imposed a series of restrictions on
news reporting and political activity that threatened national solidarity. 2
Internet in Thailand
Internet usage in Thailand began with a small
base and has increased sixfold over the past five
years.
3
Initially, rather than encouraging growth of
the Internet for all people, the government used
and developed it only for state academic institutions and government agencies. 4
The total number of Internet users in 2005
was estimated at 12,500,000, representing an
Internet penetration rate of approximately 19 percent. 5 However, homes and businesses in
Bangkok and other major cities make up most of
the penetration rate, and there is little Internet
connectivity in surrounding areas. 6 In 2004,
about 15 percent of schools had access to the
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
No evidence
Suspected
Selective
Substantial
Pervasive
Filtering
of filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
Political
●
Social
●
Conflict/security
●
Internet tools
●
Other factors
Low
Medium
High
Not applicable
Transparency
●
Consistency
●
Thailand