Thailand - December 2022

A ministerial decree empowering officials under the Minister of Digital Economy and Society to order online service providers and social media platforms to remove content violating the Computer Crimes Act within 24 hours and without a court order took effect on 25 December. Human rights activists have said the measure will result in arbitrary restrictions on online expression and information beyond the already expansive interference permitted under the previous legal framework. The bill prohibits hosting vaguely-defined “false computer data” that might defame people or damage national security.

Sources: Article 19, International Commission of Jurists, The Thaiger