Thai ISPs given 7 days to block “illicit” pages

Thai ISPs have been given just seven days to block “illicit” webpages such as anti-monarchy content deemed illegal by the courts, or face the prospect of having their licenses revoked.

Regulator NBTC has ordered the nation’s ISPs to ensure they are compliant with the nation’s censorship regime, which also covers material such as sedition and promotion of illegal content.

ISPs found to still be in violation after seven days could face penalties including fines, the cancellation of their licenses or even criminal charges for the management.

The NBTC has said it will work with ISPs that claim to have technical reasons for being unable to block illicit content to help solve the problem.

Meanwhile, the regulator and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society are pressing ISPs to extend their content blocking to include illicit video streaming on Facebook and YouTube from local CDNs.

The agencies plan to discuss how local ISPs will be able to block illicit content through online and streaming video on overseas-owned sites.

This initiative was announced on the same day that a Thai man broadcast the murder of his 11-month-old daughter over Facebook Live before killing himself, a tragedy that drew international media attention.