Comments on: Thai Website Blacklist Leaked http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/2008/12/29/thai-website-blacklist-leaked/ Thoughts from the Internet and Democracy Project team at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:33:58 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5.2 hourly 1 By: thai bar http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/2008/12/29/thai-website-blacklist-leaked/comment-page-1/#comment-14624 thai bar Mon, 04 May 2009 05:56:08 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/?p=338#comment-14624 I really liked your blog! Im heading to phuket and pattaya this summer to all the information i can get on thailand events are useful. I Will subscribe to your feed. I really liked your blog! Im heading to phuket and pattaya this summer to all the information i can get on thailand events are useful. I Will subscribe to your feed.

]]> By: Bryan http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/2008/12/29/thai-website-blacklist-leaked/comment-page-1/#comment-4716 Bryan Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:31:05 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/idblog/?p=338#comment-4716 Thai censorship is a very interesting topic. I just got back from a few weeks in the country; during my stay I witnessed several peaceful protests (one in front of a large commercial center in Bangkok, and one in front of a government building). Police were there to make sure the protest didn't get out of hand, but so were reporter's cameras to ensure the public knew about the protests. Local people were well aware of the recent protests at the airport, and the newspapers carry daily reports of government failings. I met an American ex-pat working for the Royal Thai Tourist Police who admonished "insult and argue about politicians as much as you want, just don't insult the king. There will be a Thai person listening, he will get offended, and he will call the police." What I am getting to is that this is a country with little to no political censorship. You have made the mistake of conflating political censorship with the lese majeste laws. In most ways the King is an apolitical institution. He is a symbol for the Thai people. In Thailand the Lese Majeste laws are more akin to flag-burning statutes than to political censorship. I am in no way condoning censorship (political or otherwise), but to claim that the lese majeste laws--laws tantamount to strong libel laws--destroy political discourse and transparency is an exaggeration. Thai censorship is a very interesting topic. I just got back from a few weeks in the country; during my stay I witnessed several peaceful protests (one in front of a large commercial center in Bangkok, and one in front of a government building). Police were there to make sure the protest didn’t get out of hand, but so were reporter’s cameras to ensure the public knew about the protests. Local people were well aware of the recent protests at the airport, and the newspapers carry daily reports of government failings. I met an American ex-pat working for the Royal Thai Tourist Police who admonished “insult and argue about politicians as much as you want, just don’t insult the king. There will be a Thai person listening, he will get offended, and he will call the police.”

What I am getting to is that this is a country with little to no political censorship. You have made the mistake of conflating political censorship with the lese majeste laws. In most ways the King is an apolitical institution. He is a symbol for the Thai people. In Thailand the Lese Majeste laws are more akin to flag-burning statutes than to political censorship. I am in no way condoning censorship (political or otherwise), but to claim that the lese majeste laws–laws tantamount to strong libel laws–destroy political discourse and transparency is an exaggeration.

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