Is Internet censorship going out of hand and hurting users' freedom?

Your group met with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recently to express concerns about the growing number of blocked websites. What was his reaction?

His reaction was more positive than I expected. He said very clearly that the Information and Communications Technology Ministry's "war room" approach was "not what we had discussed", (negotiating with website owners to remove offending content rather than blocking whole sites) and that he had "no intention" of amending the Computer Crime Act. We will closely monitor these issues.

Authorities now say there are 10,000 websites with content defaming the monarchy. Is blocking them the right action?

Blocking is definitely not the right thing to do because:

l It violates users' freedom in Thailand while people overseas can still access the content;

l It cannot guarantee that the creators will be caught;

l Such content can be more rapidly disseminated because it can be posted somewhere else in seconds and it will be impossible to block them all;

l It is a waste of the government's limited resources, which should be doing other important jobs such as arresting people behind "phishing" sites;

l I don't think anyone who is loyal to the monarchy will become disloyal if they read defaming content, if any thing people will become more sympathetic to the monarchy after seeing such content.

So I think the government's oft-cited reason that so-called "lese majeste websites" constitute a "threat to national security" is mostly bunk.

Should there be a law controlling Internet usage in Thailand? And what do you think about the attempt to pass such a law?

I think any law that controls Internet usage (apart from one that traces cyber-criminals) is unnecessary and even harmful as it impedes public debate that is integral to every democratic society. It is unnecessary in most cases because there are other more effective methods, such as Net nannies that block out pornographic sites or control children's Internet usage.

I think that in some circumstances, for example, if the country is facing a very high "national security" risk from a global terrorist group, then controlling Internet usage could be justifiable. That is not the case in Thailand.

Why are you personally concerned about Internet censorship and should the public care?

For reasons I raised earlier, Internet censorship is harmful as it smothers public debate on important issues. This is why everyone should care. As someone who has learned and continues to learn a lot from discussions on various blogs and web-boards, I am very concerned about Internet censorship.

Given the recent blocking of websites, what is your prediction of the future of freedom of online expression in Thailand?

It will get worse. Despite what the PM said, I think the government will buckle under pressure from ultra-conservatives. The ICT Minister and Justice Minister already seem more than ready to "go with the flow".

Why do you think the authorities are so insecure about these websites?

I think the authorities are insecure about anything they see as chaotic and uncontrollable. The Internet, by its nature, is both. So, they tend to overestimate the dangers and underestimate the Net's benefits.

Many users are now required by law to register before using an Internet cafe. Is this justifiable?

Absolutely not. Requiring users to open accounts (without disclosing real identity) and keeping traffic logs alone provide sufficient data for the authorities to trace suspects and arrest them, as we have seen recently in Thailand. Since disclosing real identity on the Internet is not needed to catch criminals, why should the government require people to do so? I think Thai ISPs and Internet cafes should start trying to protect their customers' rights instead of eagerly complying with the government's wishes, including some very aggressive self-censorship.