Though the film has returned, the laws that give authorities absolute censorship power still remain.
On 27 June 2017, Thai netizens were able to access the “The Great Dictator” again, following its previous ban at the junta’s request.
Certain URLs containing the film were reportedly blocked in Thailand on 21 June, after the Thai Academic Network for Civil Rights (TANCR) encouraged followers on its Facebook page to watch and share the film en masse at 7 pm of 24 June 2017 to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the People’s Party Revolution.
But when people tried to access The Great Dictator via Youtube at the appointed time, the following message appeared, “This content is not available on this country domain due to a legal complaint from the government”.
Arthit Suriyawongkul, from the Thai Netizen Network (TNN), believes that the junta did not ban the film because of its content, but because it was being used in a political campaign.
He pointed that under Article 15 of the newly amended Computer Crimes Act, internet service providers must comply with censorship requests from the authorities or risk being considered as participants in the crimes. Such coercion allows authorities to block content without a court warrant.
Arthit is concerned that the state of Thailand’s online freedom will only spiral further, given the fact that the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has proposed to spend 10 millions baht in establishing a cyber security center, responsible for 24/7 online monitor.
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