February 1, 200719 yr This is quite a number of blocked web sites, more than five times as many blocked in three months. The part of this story that bothers me more than any of it is the last sentence in which it is revealed that not only do they not disclose which web sites are blocked, but they don't even disclose the criteria involved in making the decisions. To me, that suggests whoever is involved in blocking web sites literally has carte blanche to block any web site they wish, for any reason they wish, with no standard recourse available to those who find their web sites blocked. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Junta Clamps Down on Websites The year may well be the 21st century's version of George Orwell's "1984" for Thailand as the number of blocked websites since the coup has increased by 500 per cent as of January, according to the campaign group Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT). The "blocklist", numbering 13,435 websites as of January 11, compared to 2,475 in October 13 last year, "shows a frightening increase in thought control and abrogation of civil liberties and human rights in Thailand," FACT said in a recent statement. "2007 may well be the 21st century's "1984" in Thailand." Some anti-coup websites such as 19sep.org have been blocked six time since the coup took place last September. "In the wake of September 19, many Thai Web discussion boards were blocked or ordered to self-censor, stifling freedom of expression and freedom of association," FACT stated. It added that no identification of the blocked websites has been disclosed to the public nor do the involved government agencies disclose what criteria they use to block some sites.
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