1,893 websites blocked

According to the Thai government, access to 1,893 websites is currently blocked within Thailand. The figure was provided under the Official Information Act, following a request from FACT. (The Act stipulates that all enquiries must be answered within two months; FACT had to wait for over a year.)

The official total of 1,893 blocked sites is a mere 10% of the unofficial MICT blocklist, leaked by FACT last year. Also, the Computer Crime Act forbids the blocking of any website without a court order, and so far only one such order has been applied for: to block a website selling Beagle Buddha merchandise. (The ICT Minister had previously encouraged hackers to illegally disrupt potentially offensive websites; the Beagle Buddha site is unblocked, as the court order has not [yet] been granted and the site has not [yet] been hacked.)