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| Residents wait on line to receive shots of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Central Vaccination Center in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, July 22, 2021. (Photo by= AP/Sakchai Lalit) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] BANGKOK: Thailand on Friday (Jul 30) banned the dissemination of "false messages" that affect security, drawing accusations from media groups that it is trying to crack down on criticism of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said this week that the spread of fake news had become a major problem causing confusion in society and undermining the government's ability to manage the pandemic.
An emergency decree that took effect on Friday prohibits the dissemination of false messages and distorted news that causes panic, misunderstanding or confusion "affecting state security, abusing the rights of others, and the order or good morality of the people". The decree empowers the state regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), to order service providers to block Internet access to individual IP addresses if it believes they are disseminating false news and to inform the police to take legal action.
The decree comes after the government has faced public criticism over its handling of the pandemic. For most of last year Thailand managed to keep the virus at bay but a recent surge of infections, driven by the Delta variant of the virus, has been the deadliest yet.
