Thai police summon Facebook users over coup-rumor posts, threaten to jail people for ‘liking’

[Karee 4,191]

Sorry if my responses seem tardy, but I have a certain person on ignore. So your wife is with you now? How does she feel about this? As a non-Thai my experiences of the country have only been good. Is it different for citizens?

Yes, she is with me here in Texas. She is a U.S. Citizen now. She really doesn't have an opinion one way or the other about political matters in Thailand. I think she sees Thai politicians as a bunch of fools that only care about themselves, and it's hard to argue with her on that point. I actually follow politics pretty closely there. Mostly for the entertainment value.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Well as many historians will point out a benevolent dictator is the best.

[Ban Hammer 13,589]

Two of those summoned were red shirts, another is a white mask.

what does this mean? made me think of crouching tiger, hidden dragon.

Edited August 11, 2013 by charles!

[Karee 4,191]

what does this mean? made me think of crouching tiger, hidden dragon.

Red shirts are aligned with the current government. Yellow shirts are against the current govt.. The white masks are generally considered to be aligned with the yellow shirts. The red shirts support the convicted criminal fugitive ex-PM who is living in self-imposed exile in Dubai because he doesn't want to come back to Thailand to face his jail sentence. Just so happens, the current PM is his sister. So the red shirts generally support the current govt.

They are currently debating amnesty in parliament that will in effect absolve the crook former PM in Dubai of his past misdeeds. If that happens, you can expect Bangkok to once again be on fire like it was 3 years ago, except this time it will be the yellow shirts burning the place down instead of the red shirts. Hope that clears it up.

Although military coups are generally considered a bad thing, in this case it would be a blessing, just as the coup in 2006 was. There's two institutions the Thais respect. The king and the military.

[Karee 4,191]

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Police seek to check Line posts
PAKORN PUENGNETR,
ASINA PORNWASIN,
CHANIKARN PHUMHIRAN
The Nation

by Nation Graphic

JAPANESE OPERATOR OF CHAT APP ASKED TO HELP; TCSD AWAITING RESPONSE

BANGKOK: -- Police plan to study the conversations and comments posted on the popular social-media application Line to see if they violate the law or threaten national security.

Pol Maj Ge Pisit Pao-in, commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), said the agency had asked Line Corporation in Japan to cooperate, but had failed with other operators of social-media websites as they were mostly in the West and did not allow such investigation.

"We have been talking to them [the operators of social media] a lot, but they do not want to cooperate. When they want anything, they expect to get it, but when we ask them for something, they rarely help us. They have taken a lot from Thailand but refused to cooperate with Thailand. I won't let them go if they make any mistakes," he warned.

TCSD officials will be sent to Japan to seek information about suspicious Line users in Thai-land. The Nation contacted Na-ver Japan, the developer of Line, yesterday for feedback and was told that the company would respond today. Although Pisit admitted that his agency had the means to keep track of people's chat records, it had decided to ask Naver Japan to be ready to send a report on chat records when asked. His agency has yet to hear of the company's decision.

"We are not violating anybody's rights, as the checking is being done overseas. So you can't really attack me for this," he said.

Pisit said his agency also had the authority to check people's social activities on smart phones.

"Nowadays people use smart phones like a mobile computer. They use it to take videos, upload information, transfer money and connect to social networks. Therefore, we have to investigate information being sent via smart phones as well," he said. "If I want, I can investigate all the information on smart phones. We can investigate all the crimes done via computer systems."

Last week, Pisit summoned four suspects for allegedly breaching Article 14 of the National Computer Act and Article 116 of the Criminal Law by posting messages via social media, saying they anticipated a coup and urged people to stock up on food and water. He said such statements could put people in a state of panic, and those who "liked" or "shared" the messages could be considered violators of the law as well.

This action was met by an open letter of opposition from four professional media organisations. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission also issued a statement warning the police to use their authority carefully and not violate people's fundamental rights and freedoms.

NHRC chairwoman Amara Pongsapich said looking into people's online chats was a violation of their rights, and clear guidelines that are acceptable globally should be identified first.

"Most conversations are personal and on personal issues. Checking on such conversations is like tapping people's phone lines. If [the agency] is really going to do this, it needs to set clear guidelines and keep people's rights and privacy in mind."


-- The Nation 2013-08-13

Source:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/660371-freedom-of-expression-thai-police-seek-to-check-line-posts/

Edited August 13, 2013 by Karee

[Jacque67 7,328]

wow. I use Line all the time to communicate with friends. However words aren't needed. Unlike the simplistic emoticons on VJ one can choose from many different images to express a feeling, opinion etc. I think in the future words will become redundant .

[Karee 4,191]

Line 'secretly' cooperating with TCSD on chat records, Pisit tells the press

Japan's Naver Corp, maker of ubiquitous chatting app Line, has agreed to cooperate with Thai police to share records of “suspicious” users, according to the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Yesterday, TCSD chief Pol Maj Gen Pisit Paoin told Post Today that he had discussed the issue with the Japanese firm earlier and received the green light from them to track messages detrimental to Thailand's security.

Regarding yesterday's statement by Naver Corp that they hadn't received any requests from Thai police, Pisit said that the statement was just part of the company’s PR strategy to protect its business. Thailand is the third-biggest country for Line, after Japan and Taiwan, with over 15 million users.

Pisit vowed to pursue its operation in a quiet manner so as to minimize the public uproar (LOL), and continue their operation in a legal manner.

The TCSD’s initiative has recently faced a public uproar as Thai smartphone users (a.k.a. everyone) are vociferously opposed to the idea.

Thailand’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Minister said his ministry believes that requesting Line user information is “a violation of privacy” and “unnecessary.”

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her nephew Panthongtae Shinawatra also expressed their sharp disagreements with the TCSD’s policy.

This morning, the Thai Netizen Network issued a letter demanding that the TSCD be transparent about their mission to access Line users chat logs. The online activist group also requested that the police and the government stop abusing the national Computer Crime Act to stir fear among Thai internet users.

Source:

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2013/08/14/line-secretly-cooperating-tcsd-chat-records-pisit-tell-press

[Karee 4,191]

You can't make this stuff up. The idiot goes and tells the press that Line is "secretly" cooperating.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Pisit doesn't seem to smart. But maybe on the other hand he enjoys being antagonistic?