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New Report: #FreedomOnTheNet - Internet Freedom Remains under Threat in Thailand!
🚨 The Thai government still controls the Internet to silence those who bravely speak #Truth to Power! “Our Online Democracy is under attack. Exposing the truth behind #WhatsHappeningInThailand and holding the government accountable for their actions are not - and shall never be - a crime.” said Emilie Pradichit, Founder and Executive Director of Manushya Foundation, report author of Freedom on the Net: Thailand Country Report.
🌐 The newest 2021 Thailand country report on #FreedomOnTheNet shows that the digital dictatorship imposed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha continues to crack down on dissenting voices through the weaponization of COVID-19 and cyber laws, while pressuring tech companies to follow its censorship demands under the guise of so-called ‘fake news’ and vaguely defined ‘national security’ and 'public emergency'.
✊ Read our post with key findings from the #FreedomOnTheNet report. ⬇️
👉 Are we truly living in a Democracy when the Thai government uses a whole array of draconian laws and regulations, #LeseMajeste #112 #ComputerCrimeAct to restrict #FreeSpeech and #MediaFreedom - even at times of the #COVID19 pandemic when access to information helps save lives?
👉 In the #FreedomOnTheNet 2021 report, Thailand scored 36/100, placing it in the same category as highly repressive regimes in China or Belarus, where the internet is "NOT FREE". Internet users were arrested, criminally charged, or subjected to targeted harassment for sharing a range of content, including unverified information about the pandemic and criticism of the government’s response. In one of the most draconian sentences imposed in Thailand in recent memory, Anchan, a former revenue officer received a reduced sentence of 43 and a half years in prison for uploading to YouTube radio clips that were critical of the monarchy. While there were no reported cases within Thailand of enforced disappearances of and physical violence against users in retaliation for their online activities, though a Thai activist was forcibly disappeared in Cambodia. Extralegal intimidation of pro-democracy activists and critics of the monarchy continued.
✊ Share our Blog! Help us denounce #WhatsHappeningInThailand & help us call on Prayut to #StopDigitalDictatorship!
🔗 Access the full #FreedomOnTheNet Thailand Country Report on Freedom House's website here.