Internet laws a time-bomb | Bangkok Post: opinion
▻http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/993937/internet-laws-a-time-bomb
The military regime continues to create deeper digital confusion. It refuses to jettison its campaign for a single internet gateway that would out-firewall the “great firewall of China”. Now it seeks official authorisation to legally and secretly intercept all internet traffic. This amendment to the military’s poorly conceived Computer Crime Act (CCA) is sailing through the appointed National Legislative Assembly (NLA).
The revelation about this bill is a huge disappointment, and not just to those who are intensely focused on civil rights. The proposed changes to the CCA are important on several levels: they will authorise any state security agency to gather details like the login and password of every citizen who does online banking. It will allow them to intercept the business dealings of every company with an online presence, even their in-house emails.
The planned amendments, slated to become law next month, do not stop there. They specifically require ISPs to allow the state security apparatus full access to the internet traffic of their clients. Further, the ISPs will be gagged, with heavy penalties for any who blow the whistle on the state’s prying. Even if an ISP knows that state officials are intercepting highly personal details, such as online ATM transactions or business secrets, they are forbidden from revealing this rights abuse.