Thailand blocks 2,300 web sites

APPARENTLY there is a rash of web sites in the World Wide Wibble have miffed the Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The government has blocked more than 2,300 Web sites over the past year, most of them for offending the country's monarchy.

We are not sure of the King was ever asked if he was miffed by any of the sites, usually royality has people who throw toys out of the pram on their behalf. But there is a fear that the government might be using the excuse as a pretext for censoring dissent.

Sue Lo-uthai, an official at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology said that sites were also blocked for pornographic content and threatening national security. Not at the same time we guess. However if you were going to block pron from the Internet we suspect that you would have turned up more than 2,300 sites.
Sue said that most of the cases are lese majeste as a result of the political conflict in Thailand.

Lese majeste against 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. µ

L'INQ
AP