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How Thai authorities use online doxxing to suppress dissent

(citizenlab.ca)
207 points gnabgib | 4 comments | 20 Apr 25 23:15 UTC | HN request time: 0.864s | source
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nomilk ◴[21 Apr 25 04:58 UTC] No.43748605[source]▶
> The (pro democracy) protesters were met with severe repression, and in November 2020, Prime Minister Prayuth ordered authorities to bring back the enforcement of lèse-majesté, or Section 112 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes “insulting the monarchy”. Thailand’s use of lèse-majesté has been both arbitrary and prolific; protesters can be arrested for as little as sharing social media posts that are ‘insulting to the monarchy’. Furthermore, the weaponization of lèse-majesté has devastating consequences: those convicted under Section 112 face three to 15 years in prison per count.
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colechristensen ◴[21 Apr 25 06:52 UTC] No.43749049[source]▶
Absurd and not at all surprising today. And large sections of many populations do not care because their ideology aligns with whoever is doing the abuse of basic freedoms.
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rayiner ◴[21 Apr 25 13:34 UTC] No.43751858[source]▶
I was born in Thailand--though to be clear, I am not Thai. Thais are not Westerners. They revere their king. Their "ideology" doesn't embrace western "freedoms" of speech and protest to begin with. So the implied accusation of hypocrisy in your comment is simply misplaced.

Westerners generally, and Americans specifically, don't realize how their constant harping on "basic freedoms" comes across as ethnocentric. My parents are American citizens, but they were raised in Bangladesh and they don't really believe in free speech or democracy. My dad always talks about free speech with implicit scare quotes, like he’s referring to an american custom.

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1. Braxton1980 ◴[21 Apr 25 14:04 UTC] No.43752156[source]▶
Why do your parents believe this?
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2. rayiner ◴[21 Apr 25 14:21 UTC] No.43752326[source]▶
It's not their cultural inheritance. Their moms never pulled them aside as children and said something like "you don't have to like what Bobby said to you, it's a free country and he can speak his mind." Quite the opposite: as in most Asian societies, there is an overarching emphasis on social harmony, face saving, etc.

As to democracy, that is both culturally alien to them and their experience with it has been one of failure. We have never had a stable democratic government in Bangladesh, and my parents are persuaded that it's not possible. In general, they view democracy experiments outside Europe as something of a cruel joke. My parents felt quite vindicated that democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan failed, because they expected that to happen.

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3. exe34 ◴[21 Apr 25 14:36 UTC] No.43752494[source]▶
> Quite the opposite: as in most Asian societies, there is an overarching emphasis on social harmony, face saving, etc.

to be fair, it's not actually different. in both cases, the more powerful person gets to say what they want and everybody else has to agree or remain quiet.

in America, you can get targeted by the state for peaceful protests or posting something on social media in the past because you're a "homegrown terrorist". in Thailand, as described here, you can get arrested for peaceful protest or something you posted in the past.

freedom has always meant freedom of the rich and powerful.

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4. rayiner ◴[21 Apr 25 15:05 UTC] No.43752784{3}[source]▶
No, it is different, at least in degree if not at the extremes. My wife is an American and the directness and bluntness with which she and her family talk to each other still shocks me after 15 years of knowing them. Even if there are practical limits to American free speech, it’s apparent from simple inspection that there’s a distinctive cultural basis for this political right.