PANTIP.COM

Political chat site shut down for security

Govt pulls plug on online board; fuels YouTube censorship row

The government has shut down a popular online political chat room, citing national security as the reason.

The Information and Commu-nications Technology Ministry pulled the plug on the Rajdam-noen Room chat site hosted by the pantip.com website, according to minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom yesterday.

He said it had been temporarily closed after the ministry decided several topics, or threads, undermined national security.

The order was effective yesterday.

The chat room hosts political discussions with a leaning towards remnants of the previous regime.

The ministry is embroiled in another freedom-of-speech row over its decision to bar access to the video-sharing website YouTube after it declined to remove a clip deemed insulting to His Majesty the King.

Sitthichai said the ministry would permit the pantip.com chat room to open again "after the political situation improves". He would not say when this would be but hinted it could be soon.

He added the ministry was sensitive towards messages or discussions on websites that bordered on insulting His Majesty the King and Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda.

He said the ministry asked prachatai.com and mthai.com to monitor its political web boards, which allegedly carried several threads discussing the monarchy.

Sitthichai will consult with acting national police chief General Seripisut Temiyavej about legal action against those submitting content deemed harmful to the country.

Pantip.com yesterday posted a notice stating the Rajdamnoen Room was closed for national security reasons at the request of the ministry.

"The web page is suspended as requested. We would like to ask members not to post [political messages] in other rooms, otherwise the entire site will be closed. Sorry for any inconvenience," the notice said.

Pantip.com is the most popular chat site in Thailand and its political pages often feature feisty debate about democracy, the junta and the legitimacy of the coup.

The website is considered to be pro-Thaksin Shinawatra and anti manager.co.th, the website of the Manager Group controlled by Sondhi Limthongkul.

The Rajdamnoen page was shut for two weeks shortly after the September coup that ousted Thaksin.

Pantip.com founder Wanchat Padungrat yesterday said he could not understand why the chat room had been closed. He added he monitored the content of Rajdamnoen Room and found no aggressive messages insulting the monarchy.

"The ministry does not specify which topics [endanger national security]. It may become sensitive for the junta. However, I am wondering why pantip.com is the only website being censored, while other political sites are untouched," said Wanchat.

Prachatai.com editor Chuwat Rerksirisuk said he and staff ensured the site carried no offensive material. It is prepared to cooperate with the ministry.

"We try to impose self-censorship to prevent libel actions by third persons," Chuwat said.

He disagreed with ministry censorship, saying it did nothing to help the situation.

He was unaware of content deemed offensive to the monarchy, although he noted the ministry informed the site of two threads considered insulting. "We moved quickly to delete them," he said.

He added that 99 per cent of political threads on Prachatai did not discuss the monarchy. The others are trying to use the monarchy and the Privy Council president as tools to shut the site down, he said.

Prachatai.com is a political website which opposes the coup. It attacked the Thaksin government, too.

Media lecturer Darunee Hiranrak said the ministry could shut websites considered insulting to the monarchy and a danger to national security. "Even some details on the web board are not truthful. It could arouse political turmoil," she said.

Last month, the computer-related crimes bill passed its first reading in the National Legislative Assembly and entered the committee stage ahead of its second reading.

The proposed legislation is considered draconian by free-speech advocates because it provides for the punishment of online users and Internet service providers.

The legislation allows for the closing of websites carrying content considered a threat to national security. Critics say the draft gives the government excessive control over the Internet.

Sucheera Pinijparakarn

The Nation

admin Wrote:The legislation allows for the closing of websites carrying content considered a threat to national security.

A threat to national security.  More like a threat to national insecurity.  This legislation is just too wide ranging.  You could lump just about anything into the "Threat to National Security" cubby hole.

Quote:Pantip.com web board chatting again

(BangkokPost.com) - The Information and Communications Technology Ministry unblocked Ratchadamnoen, a popular political web chatroom at Pantip.com Tuesday afternoon after its operator pledged to censor the contributors.

The web board was suspended on Sunday after the operator asked the ministry to temporarily shut down the web forum, saying that he could not prevent improper messages from flooding the board.

Wanchat Padungrat, founder and owner of Pantip.com, said he told staff to carefully watch for posts deemed offensive to the monarchy.

"We will increase staff to watch the site 24 hours a day," he said. "I'm confident that we could control improper messages."

Meanwhile, ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said the ministry allowed the public to criticise the work of the government and the Concil for National Security.

But then he immediately contradicted himself, saying that such discussions must be done within limits he did not define, and should not damage national security in a way he did not point out.

He added that the ministry would send letters explaining to YouTube and Google that the blocking of YouTube was not aimed at preventing people in Thailand from watching video clips mocking the King since Thais would not be influenced by such clips anyway.

He did not explain why the popular video site was cut off.

The ministry ordered the CAT Telecom gateway operator to set up a block of YouTube.com last week after the appearance of the first video mocking the King. YouTube banned the poster who sent the video, but more than a dozen such videos are currently on the site, and it is unlikely YouTube can clear the website of such material.

Bangkok Post April 11,2007
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