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Thailand Cracks Down On Twitter, Facebook, Etc.
An anonymous reader writes "The ongoing poitical turmoil in Thailand has inspired the country's Ministry of Information, Computers, and Telecommunications to issue a stern warning that all users of the Internet in Thailand must 'use the internet in the right way or with appropriate purpose and avoid disseminating information that could create misunderstanding or instigate violent actions among the public', that 'all popular websites and social networks such as facebook, twitter, hi5 and my space [sic] will be under thorough watch,' and that 'Violators will be prosecuted by law with no compromise.' Thailand has draconian anti-lèse majesté laws which are routinely abused in order to settle political scores and silence dissent, and recently implemented a so-called 'Computer Crimes Act' which appears to be almost solely focused on thoughtcrimes and censorship, rather than dealing with, you know, actual crime. Several Web forums have recently been shut down, their operators charged because they failed to delete 'harmful posts' quickly enough to suit the Thai authorities."
It's been done already.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
But he is correct even if you don't like his logic. Free Speech? Sure, as long as you don't talk about x, y, or z. Oh, and we may add a, b, and c to the restricted list later. And you have to identify yourself - the founders never meant it could be anonymous. The governments (of various countries) chip away at these "inalienable rights" you speak of daily. They'll continue until it comes to "you have the right to speak well of your government". The other rights are just as much in jeopardy.