Asia: Internet-nanny states on rise

According to a recent article in Asia Times Online, the 2007 Computer Crime Act in Thailand had made the use of proxy servers punishable by law and more recently 2, 300 websites have been shutdown for insulting the monarchy. The Justice Ministry has sought court orders to shut down an additional 3000. In Singapore the government, wary of any criticism, frequently sues publications like The Economist and the Far Eastern Economic Review for referring to the one-party government rule as ‘authoritarian’. The government, which uses economic success as legitimacy for it’s hold on power, harassed an Asia Times contributor for discussing financial trouble in the city-state. In Malaysia last year, local ISPs were told to block renowned blogger and critique of the government, Raja Petra Kamarudin, from accessing the Internet. He was later arrested under the Internal Security Act. The Burmese government is taking lessons from Russian and Chinese officials on how to tighten it’s grip in cyberspace too, in a more sophisticated way than has previously done.

Links and sources:

An opening in cyberspace closes, Asia Times Online

China’s Internet censorship explained, China you ren website