Silencing Dissent? Social Media, Citizens and the State in Thailand and Southeast Asia
Thursday 1st June: 17.00 - 19.00
Room 326, Professor Stuart Hall Building
Goldsmiths, University of London
A roundtable discussion on social media, citizens and the state in Thailand and Southeast Asia with journalists, academics, human rights and privacy activists
In the three years that have followed the military coup in May 2014 Thai users of popular social media platforms have been harassed, detained, prosecuted and imprisoned by the authorities for posting and sharing content online. A recent announcement
by the ruling military junta, the National Council for Peace and Order, went a step further and moved to criminalise Thai citizens who merely ‘follow’ prominent overseas and exiled critics of the monarchy on social media. Using a range of sweeping laws and
orders, in conjunction with the ever-growing powers of a surveillance apparatus with minimal legal checks and balances, the military junta have the ambition to purge social media platforms as spaces for the exchange of alternative opinions on questions of
national significance.
This roundtable discussion brings together human rights, privacy and freedom of expression campaigners with journalists and academics to assess the impact of the post-coup strategy of targeting dissent and opposition online. What effect does
the high-profile intimidation, detention and prosecution of citizens for Facebook posts, shares and follows have on the use of these platforms and tools? How do citizens and journalists negotiate the risks and evolve tactics for making critical positions visible
and audible? How does the Thai experience of a diminishing space for legitimate online dissent compare with other national contexts across Southeast Asia that have followed different political trajectories in recent years?
This discussion is part of a series of events organised by the Internet Futures and Human Rights research stream and is supported by additional funding from the British Academy Newton Mobility scheme.
Confirmed contributors include:
- Eva Blum-Dumontet (Privacy International)
- Katherine Gerson (Amnesty International)
- Giang Nguyen (BBC World Service)
- Yukti Mukdawijitra (Thammasat University & Thai Academic
Network for Civil Rights)
- Arthit Suriyawongkul (Thai Netizen Network)
- Nopporn Wong-Annan (BBC Thai Service)
- Orapin Yingyongpathana (South East Asia Press Alliance)
