<p>A civil society organisation for consumers has urged the Thai authorities not to pass the digital economy bills, which will give the state unprecedented control over communications and the internet, before public revision.</p>

<p>The Network of People with Physical Challenges has pointed out that the controversial Digital Economy bills, recently approved by the junta, ignore the technological inequity facing physically challenged people and remove the voices of the disabled from decision-making on a telecommunications-related public fund.</p>

<div> <div>Three lèse majesté suspects accused of being involved in a copycat lèse majesté Facebook page were released on Tuesday morning after being detained for almost three months. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The three are Jaruwan E., 26, Anon, 22, and Chat, 20. The three were accused of using a Facebook page under the real name of Jaruwan to defame the King. </div></div>

<p>The Thai military is recruiting a number of new personnel for a Cyber Warfare unit to take care of cyber security matters. &nbsp;</p> <p>Col Chatchai Chaikaseam, the Director of the Cyber Warfare unit of the Thai military, revealed on Sunday at Thailand’s Meet the Hacker 2015 in Bangkok that the military is recruiting seven officers to join the unit.</p> <p>The Cyber Warfare unit is under the Directorate of Joint Operations, under the Royal Thai Armed Forces.</p>

<div> <div>Four leading civil society organizations on Tuesday submitted an open letter to the junta-appointed parliament to hear more opinions from the people on the controversial digital economy bills.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The four are the Foundation for Internet and Civic Culture (FICC) aka the Thai Netizen Network (TNN), the Institution for the Development of Citizen Media, Green World Foundation, and the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand. </div></div>

<p>Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition urging the junta not to pass the digital economy bills which will give the state unprecedented powers of mass surveillance and control over communications in the name of national security.</p>

<p>Six civil organizations denounced the eight Digital Economy bills recently approved by the junta, saying they are national security bills in disguise and that the bill will pave the way for a state monopoly of the telecommunication business.</p>

<p id="E26" qowt-divtype="para" qowt-eid="E26"><span id="E27" qowt-eid="E27">Thailand’s leading Internet freedom advocacy group has condemned the Thai authorit</span><span id="E28" qowt-eid="E28">ies</span><span id="E29" qowt-eid="E29"> for allowing Internet Service Providers (ISP</span><span id="E30" qowt-eid="E30">s</span><span id="E31" qowt-eid="E31">) to block </span><span id="E32" qowt-eid="E32">lèse majesté</span><span id="E33" qowt-eid="E33"> and other websites viewed as threats to national security the moment they see one. &nbsp; &nbsp;</span></p>

<div> <div>The military on Saturday accused a woman of defaming the King on her Facebook account. However, the Facebook account is suspected of being fake and a ploy to damage the woman.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Lt Col Burin Thongprapai, on the staff of the military Judge Advocate General’s Department, on Saturday afternoon filed a case under Article 112 or the lèse majesté law against Jaruwan E., 26, at the Crime Suppression Division.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Burin submitted three pieces of content posted under the public Facebook page with the name Jaruwan E. </div></div>

<div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Thai police warned Thai internet users on Monday that “liking” or expressing approval of anti-military junta messages is a crime.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Pol Maj Gen Amnuay Nimmano, Deputy Commander of Bangkok Metropolitan Police, said liking or expressing approval of messages which ask people to join anti-junta activities is a crime because it helps publicize the messages.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The Thai authorities have constantly warned Thai internet users that sharing and liking lèse majesté Facebook pages constitutes a crime itself as a violation of Artic </div></div>

<p>Internet activists in Thailand criticized the government for infringing on the rights of online users and called for amending the controversial Computer Crime Act.</p>

<p>Thai Netizen Network demands Thai authorities to make clarification on the recent arrests of internet users, including&nbsp;Nat Sattayapornpisut in whose case the authorities are asked to disclose the means of accessing e-mail accounts and the law that entitled them to do so, 'since this matter may have violated people&rsquo;s right to privacy and freedom to communicate'.</p>