BANGKOK, May 20 (TNA) -- Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung said Tuesday that the authorities are cracking down on some 29 websites, including those connected with foreign countries, which might constitute lese majeste offenses.
Interior Ministry personnel have been assigned to keep tabs on the websites, including those linked with overseas websites, suspected to have generated lese majeste content, said Mr. Chalerm who met Tuesday with senior officials of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, the National Police and his own ministry.
Mr. Chalerm said he had already alerted ICT Minister Mun Phatthanothai of the concerted move against such internet threats.
Those found to contain lese majeste content will be told to stop doing so and delete the content or else their websites may be shut down by court order, according to Mr. Chalerm.
Under the Internal Security Act and Computer-related Offenses Act of 2007, legal action may be taken against the operators of those websites, should they continue to generate any content deemed offensive to the nation's revered king, the interior minister said.
The authorities had unofficially managed to have the operators of some of the suspected websites delete the content which might be otherwise intertwined with lese majeste offenses.
Mr. Chalerm said those in charge of running the websites in question could not legally claim innocence, even if their internet content came from abroad. They could be legally held as accomplices in lese majeste lawsuits, according to the interior minister.
There are currently about 150 website operators in Thailand, a dozen of whom are considered major players. (TNA)-E008
Political News : Last Update : 20:56:43 20 May 2008 (GMT+7:00)
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