Freedom Against Censorship Thailand CENSORED!
April 26, 2009
If you can read this, YOU PROBABLY AREN’T IN THAILAND!
If you live in Thailand and are a FACT reader, you probably don’t use TOT ADSL, Kasetsart University or Buddy Broadband as your ISP. All three of those ISPs have been blocking FACT since at least noon on April 25 and redirecting users via transparent proxy to a blank blockpage at Thailand’s ICT ministry. Since the evening of April 26, FACT has been blocked by CAT CDMA, CAT Hi-net, and CAT Pattaya ISPs and redirecting to MICT. Since April 27, Mahidol University also blocks FACT. FACT’s RSS feed was on and off intermittently.
Will FACT readers please keep us informed if and when FACTsite https://facthai.wordpress.com is blocked by other ISPs. Please let us know by email: facthai@gmail.com. Please include your mobile number so we can call you back.
We need to know if KU and Buddy and perhaps other ISPs are redirecting users by transparent proxy to http://w3.mict.go.th, as is TOT.
The fact that THREE ISPs are now blocking FACTsite indicates that the blocking order did, in fact, come from MICT and is not just an ISP decision.
This means that probably more ISPs will start to block FACTsite as the MICT “request” is implemented by them. Some may be inefficient and not get around to blocking; others may simply ignore MICT’s “request”.
It is HIGHLY unlikely that MICT sought a court order to block FACTsite. Therefore, we have a good basis for a court case. FACT would like to become the second legal website in Thailand after Midnight University!
In any case, the first step is a letter of complaint to MICT and the three ISPs. We shall also get on the phone to all four on Monday.
Can some FACT readers please let us know if FACT’s RSS feed is still sending to subscribers?
Thanks for your help and support. FACT readers should use proxies and VPN till we get a new, mirrored website up. (This is the same way we’ll continue to post.)
Psst… want FREEDOM?
(That URL starts with HTTPS://)
The Royal Thai Police announced plans just before Songkran for six more arrests under Thailand’s Computer-Related Crimes Act after the holiday. An April 24 press release from the ICT ministry admitted blocking 8,955 websites.
This is the first time FACT has been blocked since its inception November 15, 2006.
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) has prepared a formal letter of complaint to send to Ranongruk Suwanachee, ICT minister, and the CEOs of the three ISPs:
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand
กลุ่มเสรีภาพต่อต้านการเซ็นเซอร์แห่งประเทศไทย
April 25, 2009
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
Formal Letter of Complaint Over Website Blocking
Cease and Desist Order
It has been brought to our attention that, on April 25, 2009, the WordPress blogsite of Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) https://facthai.wordpress.com was inaccessible to subscribers of the Telephone Organisation of Thailand’s ADSL Internet service (2009.04.25 13:07; 2009.04.25 17:15; 2009.04.25 17:33; 2009.04.25 21:49), Kasetsart University (2009.04.25 14:32), and Buddy Broadband (2009.04.26 02:16). Our website was apparently accessible from many other ISPs in Thailand. Users of TOT ADSL, Kasetsart University, and Buddy Broadband attempting to access FACT’s website were redirected by transparent proxy to http://w3.mict.go.th, indicating that FACT’s website was blocked by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) is a non-political, non-partisan, public non-governmental organisation providing information on censorship issues in Thailand and worldwide. FACT is a network of more than 900 citizens concerned over censorship issues.
I am FACT’s coordinator and registered owner of FACT’s website https://facthai.wordpress.com.
If the ICT ministry and/or TOT is blocking FACT’s website https://facthai.wordpress.com, we require you to provide a copy of the court order authorising censorship of our website along with complete reasons for such censorship. If there is no such court order, the ICT ministry and/or TOT is acting illegally under the requirements of the Computer-Related Crimes Act 2007 and must immediately restore access to our website by all Internet users.
Should you fail to provide us with the relevant court orders and reasons for blocking FACT’s website, we will take legal action against you.
We expect your prompt reply and the removal of any block against FACT’s website.
Sincerely,
CJ Hinke
Box 31, Udomsuk Post Office
Bangkok 10261 Thailand
telephone. +66-7-976-1880 email. facthai@gmail.com
FACT - Freedom Against Censorship Thailand 
April 26, 2009 at 15:46
At the moment I have TOT ADSL and can get this. Maybe they removed the block or are selective..
April 26, 2009 at 22:38
access by dtac/gprs
April 27, 2009 at 3:31
If it’s true, that would suck.
April 27, 2009 at 6:11
I have TOT as an ISP and can connect at
https://facthai.wordpress.com/
but not at
https://facthai.wordpress.com/
where I get the bogus MICT page.
Good luck in your fight! Please keep us posted on all the obfuscation and blatant illegal acts taken by the ISPs involved, the MICT, and all the branches of Thai government with whom you try to deal.
Take notes and publish it.
TOT still has my internet connection tapped. Ask your lawyer if I have any recourse there as well, if you would.
Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit.
April 27, 2009 at 8:16
At CAT Telecom Pattaya this website is blocked blocked.
Accessible by CS Loxinfo in Bangkok
April 27, 2009 at 10:04
I can still see it, but go ahead and file that lawsuit CJ. Be the first to stand up in this mai pen rai country.
April 27, 2009 at 12:03
Tried it twice. Got a blank MICT page the first time, but on the second try got the real page.
April 27, 2009 at 14:44
ISP : True Internet
Strange… I clicked on someones tweet with link to fact’s page a while ago(an hour or so ago), at that time I was redirected to the nonexistant page on mict’s domain…
Now im accessing thru proxy… however at the time of commenting fact’s pages can be accessed without a proxy.. Either FACT as been unblocked or True’s blocking software sucks.
April 27, 2009 at 19:35
FACTTHAI is not accessible through the Mahidol University server today
April 27, 2009 at 21:41
Accessible via TOT again. The website was blocked for one or two days. RSS feed was on and off randomly.
April 28, 2009 at 7:13
Access is fine this morning (TOT, central Bangkok).
April 28, 2009 at 9:11
No probs over here as well, TRUE, downtown Bangkok.
April 28, 2009 at 13:25
[…] https://facthai.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/freedom-against-censorship-thailand-censored/ […]
April 28, 2009 at 21:19
[…] New: FACT censored [and how to resist] On 26 April 2009, Freedom Against Censorship reported that access to their site was being blocked by at least ISPs in Thailand: TOT ADSL, Kasetsart University, and Buddy Internet. FACT has issued a letter of protest and has also asked readers to let them know if other providers are blocking their site. Read the full article here: “Freedom Against Censorship Thailand CENSORED!” […]
April 28, 2009 at 21:52
I used “Google UK” to find this website.
I hate the censorship!
April 29, 2009 at 7:34
Followed the link from PPT and here I am, on port 80 (http) not 443 (https).
So you backed ’em down and now they’ll say…
“What blockage?.. What censorship?.. Who us?! Never happened!”
So who are we gonna believe? The TOT/CAT/MICT? our our lying eyeballs?
April 29, 2009 at 23:53
[…] On 26 April 2009, Freedom Against Censorship reported that access to their site was being blocked by at least ISPs in Thailand: TOT ADSL, Kasetsart University, and Buddy Internet. FACT has issued a letter of protest and has also asked readers to let them know if other providers are blocking their site. Read the full article here: “Freedom Against Censorship Thailand CENSORED!” […]