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Twitter Censorship

January 31, 2012 by · Comments Off on Twitter Censorship 

Twitter Censorship, Thailand has become the first government to publicly endorse Twitter’s controversial decision to censor messages in certain countries.

Twitter announced last week it would permit country-specific censorship of content that could violate local laws, prompting debate worldwide over freedom of speech.

In Thailand, where censorship laws are already heavily enforced, the information and communication technology minister, Jeerawan Boonperm, called Twitter’s decision a “welcome development” and said the ministry already received “good co-operation” from internet companies such as Google and Facebook.

The Thai government would soon be contacting Twitter to “discuss ways in which they can collaborate”, she told the Bangkok Post.

In China, the state-run Global Times also endorsed the new rules: “It is impossible to have boundless freedom, even on the internet and even in countries that make freedom their main selling point,” it said.

Twitter is blocked in China, but many users access the site by accessing external networks.

According to the regulations, a tweet from Thailand could be blocked at the request of an individual, a company, or the government. However, while it will be invisible to users in Thailand, the tweet can still be seen by users in other countries.

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