Several Thai government Web sites temporarily crashed due to a “symbolic act” by people against plans to introduce a single Internet gateway, officials said yesterday, a measure critics say will make it easier for the ruling junta to censor the Web.
A minister stopped short of describing the incident as a cyberattack, but said that it was triggered by those opposed to the proposal, dubbed by some online as the “Great Firewall of Thailand” — a play on China’s Internet censorship program.
The Thai Ministry of Information and Communication Technology’s (ICT) Web site went down for more than two hours on Wednesday evening after it was “overcrowded” by the number of users, ICT deputy permanent secretary Somsak Khaosuwan told reporters.
“There were several other government Web sites which faced similar problems,” he said, adding that access to the sites had been restored by yesterday morning.
Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition against plans to introduce a single Internet gateway for Thailand to make it easier to monitor the Web and block content.
By yesterday afternoon, more than 132,000 people had signed a petition on Change.org calling on the Thai government to abandon the proposal, while the state Web sites that had crashed appeared to be running, but more slowly than usual.
At a press conference earlier, ICT Minister Uttama Savannaya said traffic on the ministry’s Web site exceeded capacity, reaching 100,000 on Wednesday, causing it to crash.
“It was a symbolic act by people concerned about the single Internet gateway. We do not think they aimed to attack government Web sites,” he told reporters in Bangkok.
Internet gateways are the points on a network where a nation connects to the World Wide Web.
Initially Thailand’s Internet flowed through a single gateway owned by the government. However, the sector was deregulated in 2006, allowing dozens of companies to open their own access points — resulting in dramatically increased Internet speeds and Thailand emerging as a regional IT hub.
The junta, which seized power in a coup last year, has vowed to expand the nation’s appeal as a hub, unveiling a plan it has dubbed “the digital economy.”
Uttama said yesterday there would be “no limitation of freedom” under the proposal.
“We will not interfere in the use of Internet or social media,” he said.
The minister added that Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led last year’s coup as then-army head, was concerned about some “inappropriate information” accessed by Thais, particularly teenagers.
Since seizing power, Thailand’s generals have ramped up censorship, blocking scores of sites and pursuing online critics with criminal charges and so-called “attitude adjustment” sessions.
Critics of the single Internet gateway plan say it will allow the military to further increase censorship as well as leave the country’s IT hub status vulnerable if the gateway fails.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese