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#StopDigitalDictatorship: Digital Rights Crisis in Thailand
🚨 Our online democracy is under attack! Thailand’s digital authoritarianism has been increasing over the past year, as Thai authorities continue to monitor, control, invade and infringe our rights on the digital space! Learn more to fight together for our #OnlineFreedom and #RightToPrivacy ⤵️
⚠️ In recent years, the rise of #DigitalDictatorship has caused worsening repression in Thailand. The government continues to weaponize cyber laws, the COVID-19 pandemic to combat so-called 'fake news' and crackdown on the pro-democracy movement and anyone speaking their truth to power! Several new laws give overly broad powers to the Thai government to restrict our online freedom of expression, enforce surveillance and censorship, and criminalize netizens, democracy activists, and human rights defenders while undermining media freedom!
🚨 Many activists face charges and criminal penalties under the Criminal Code (defamation, sedition, lese majeste) and laws broadly criminalizing "Cybercrimes" and threats to "National Security" (Computer Crime Act, Cybersecurity Act). The internet is being used as a tool to violate and control the basic human rights of people, which extend to the online space. The rights to privacy and freedom of expression are violated by surveillance, state-sponsored disinformation, and censorship imposed by state authorities! We have seen a growing Cyber Army, with a proliferation of Information Operation accounts (IOs) trying to discredit the work of human rights activists online, and coordinating cyber attacks to restrict our online visibility!
At Manushya Foundation, we work on the promotion and protection of online freedom of expression and online privacy to ensure local communities and local journalists are not subject to governments’ attempts to control the digital world, resulting in silencing human rights defenders, censorship, and defamation charges.
👉🏼 We collaborated with Access Now, Article 19, and the ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship to develop a UPR Advocacy Factsheet on Digital Rights in Thailand, to tell the truth behind #WhatsHappeningInThailand and to guarantee UN Member States make recommendations that will hold the Thai government accountable and improve the #DigitalRights situation during the upcoming UN #HumanRights review of Thailand! Indeed, on 10 November 2021, Thailand will undergo its 3rd Universal Periodic Review #UPR - a unique opportunity happening only every 5 years giving us the chance to speak truth to power and denounce the government's rights violations!
✊🏼 Follow us on social media and stay tuned for more updates on #WhatsHappeningInThailand in diverse topics as we are approaching Thailand’s biggest human rights review! We will be sharing #VoicesOfThailand !
🎨 Content by: @mmayniac
👉 Access the UPR Advocacy Factsheet on Digital Rights here.
👉 Access all the UPR Advocacy Factsheets on #WhatsHappeningInThailand here.
👉 Learn more about the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) here.