Day, Michael ORCID: 0000-0001-9612-2595 and Skulsuthavong, Merisa (2021) Towards social transformation in Thailand: Orwellian power struggles and ‘digital’ human rights under the socio-technical Thai Internet panopticon. In: Yamahata, Chosein, Seekins, Donald M. and Takeda, Makiko, (eds.) Social Transformations in India, Myanmar, and Thailand Volume I: Social, Political and Ecological Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan - Springer Link, Singapore, pp. 279-311. ISBN 978-9811671098; 978-9811671104; 9811671095; 978-9811596155; 978-9811596186 (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9616-2)

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Abstract

In Thailand, a military elite has repressed activity on the World Wide Web (Web) through ‘emergency’ surveillance acts following a coup d’état in May 2014. Since then, harsher punishments than have been imposed previously, less personal freedoms and even vaguer legislation, restrict ‘digital’ human rights. This fuels a ‘surveillance culture’ echoing George Orwell, whose novel 1984 describes a society driven by paranoia, peer-observation and self-censorship. In South-East (SE) Asia, repression of freedoms is not new. However, Thailand is, supposedly, a democratic country, where freedom of expression is enshrined in law. This shapes a worrying ‘digital’ future for Thai citizens where, since 2019, a newly ‘legitimate’ and military-backed government seeks to realise a socio-technical Thai Internet Panopticon. In this chapter, we consider why this is problematic.

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Higher Education; sociology; digital rights
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) L Education > L Education (General) Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Educational Development Unit Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Information & Library Services
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2024 13:30
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/46706

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