--- description: Thailand's telecom regulator has issued a deadline for local Internet Service Providers to block "illicit content" title: Thailand Declares Deadline to Remove Censored Web Content image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c8c787722f0f4e8/6988d870ab6d774d3a6af445/gettyimages-165144597.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Thailand](/tag/thailand/) ## Thailand Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Thailand Declares Deadline for Internet Providers to Block 'Illicit' Websites by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 4, 2017 8:06 AM CUT  Two young woman type on their smartphones at a shopping mall in Bangkok on March 21, 2013. Two young woman type on their smartphones at a shopping mall in Bangkok on March 21, 2013.Nicolas Asfouri—AFP/Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 4, 2017 8:06 AM CUT Thailand’s telecom regulator has reportedly warned Internet Service Providers to [remove “illicit content” ](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1299483/monday-is-deadline-for-illicit-pages "undefined")by Monday, after failing to pressure sites such as Facebook and YouTube into removing pages deemed unacceptable by the military junta’s strict media monitors. The country’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) told representatives of the Thai Internet Service Provider Association Thursday that ISPs would face prosecution and risk being shut down should prohibited pages still be accessible after Monday, the _Bangkok Post_ reports. “We suggest that Facebook and YouTube help ISPs remove the web pages,” the regulator’s secretary-general Takorn Tantasith was quoted by the _Post_ as saying. “These ISPs are registered in Thailand and must comply with Thai law and court orders.” According to the _Pos_t, about 97% of the thousands of pages flagged were hosted by either Facebook or YouTube. Almost half had already been removed as of Thursday, the _Post_ reports. The paper did not specify what constituted “illicit content,” or why the pages were flagged by the regulator. The ultimatum appears to refer to newly flagged pages in addition to those [targeted for removal](http://time.com/4776861/thailand-facebook-censorship-lese-majeste/ "undefined") earlier this year, many of which [remained online](http://time.com/4780139/facebook-thailand-lese-majeste-deadline/ "undefined") after sites such as Facebook refused to remove them [without a court order](http://www.khaosodenglish.com/culture/net/2017/05/16/facebook-stands-policy-govt-ultimatum-passes/ "undefined"). **Read More:** [_Thailand Has Sentenced a Man to 35 Years in Prison For Facebook Posts That ‘Insult the Monarchy’_](http://time.com/4812376/thailand-lese-majeste-facebook-royal-defamation/ "undefined") Some of the content was deemed to violate the country’s draconian _lèse-majesté_ law, which criminalizes perceived insults to the nation’s monarchy. Rights groups say that more than 100 people have been arrested on _lèse-majesté_ charges since Thailand’s military seized power in a 2014 coup, and some have been given decades-long prison sentences. The military government also has a number of criminal defamation laws at its disposal that can be brought against media users. \[[_Bangkok Post_](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1299483/monday-is-deadline-for-illicit-pages "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4887195/thailand-internet-censorship-service-providers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4887195/thailand-internet-censorship-service-providers/"},"headline":"Thailand Declares Deadline for Internet Providers to Block 'Illicit' Websites","datePublished":"2017-08-04T08:06:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:51:47.841Z","description":"The government failed to pressure Facebook and YouTube into removing pages deemed unacceptable","url":"https://time.com/4887195/thailand-internet-censorship-service-providers/","keywords":["Thailand","Censorship","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c8c787722f0f4e8/6988d870ab6d774d3a6af445/gettyimages-165144597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c8c787722f0f4e8/6988d870ab6d774d3a6af445/gettyimages-165144597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"THAILAND-LIFESTYLE-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM","caption":"THAILAND-LIFESTYLE-IT-INTERNET-TELECOM","creditText":"Nicolas Asfouri—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/thailand/","name":"Thailand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4887195/thailand-internet-censorship-service-providers/","name":"Thailand Declares Deadline for Internet Providers to Block 'Illicit' Websites"}}]}] ```