Thailand in online crackdown as tensions simmer
Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:59pm IST
Thailand in online crackdown as tensions simmer | Reuters
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By Ambika Ahuja
BANGKOK (Reuters) - When Tassaporn Ratawongsa, a 42-year-old radiologist arrived for work at a private Bangkok hospital recently, she expected to see her patients.
Instead, she was greeted by police who arrested her, searched her apartment and copied her laptop's contents. Her alleged crime: "Inputting into a computer system false information that undermines national security and causes public panic."
She was the fourth person accused of spreading rumors about the health of Thailand's revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, that sent stock prices tumbling in mid-October.
The arrests threw a spotlight on Thailand's Computer Crime Act, a controversial and wide-ranging law passed by a military-installed legislature following a 2006 coup.
Authorities say it is meant to close legal loopholes and tackle crimes in cyberspace. Critics label it a "witch hunt law" against political dissidents with provisions so vague they could be used against any web surfer.