On May 9, MICT and CRES admitted to blocking at least 50,000 websites and adding 500 more per day. It appears FACT was blocked from that date. FACT’s extensive testing across Thai ISPs has revealed that ISPs are blocking at least a further 15,000 bringing the total to more than 65,000. In the second week of May, CRES announced blocking of 770 new websites; on May 26, CRES announced blocking of 1,150 more. If we add these new figures to 46,000 websites, Thailand is blocking at least 113,000 websites!

On June 15, the Thai cabinet approved the creation of a Bureau of Prevention and Eradication of Computer Crime to “protect the monarchy”. The new office adds to censors at the ICT Ministry, the Royal Thai Police, military agencies CRES and CAPO, an Army ‘war room’ and the Culture ministry. Can’t have too many censors! (We may have missed some…)

On June 17, Thailand’s new ICT minister announced a blacklist of 200 persons banned from posting to the Internet. This restriction was undefined but presumably all sites bearing these names will be blocked. Although the names of former PM office minister Jakrapob Penkair and Chulalongkorn University professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn, both in exile over flimsy lèse majesté charges, are known to be on the blacklist, the rest of the list is secret. This means people can’t defend their reputations. Are you on the list? Am I?

Included in the announcement of the blacklist on June 17, government is threatening to “take charge” of websites it doesn’t like!

Thailand is rapidly become an Internet desert approaching leaders’ paranoia in Burma and North Korea.

IT industry and development will surely be looking for the exits.

Government shuts 43,000 more websites for lèse majesté, plans to block 3,000 more, total up to 113,000 – Manager: June 18, 2010 – Translated by Frank G. Anderson.