Internet Censorship in Thailand: User Practices and Potential Threats

Abstract

The "cat-and-mouse" game of Internet censorship and circumvention cannot be won by capable technology alone. Instead, that technology must be available, comprehensible, and trustworthy to users. However, the field largely focuses only on censors and the technical means to circumvent them. Thailand, with its superlatives in Internet use and government information controls, offers a rich case study for exploring users' assessments of and interactions with censorship. We survey 229 and interview 13 Internet users in Thailand, and report on their current practices, experienced and perceived threats, and unresolved problems regarding censorship and digital security. Our findings indicate that existing circumvention tools were adequate for respondents to access blocked information, that respondents relied to some extent on risky tool selection and inaccurate assessment of blocked content, and that attempts to take action with sensitive content on social media led to the most concrete threats with the least available technical defenses. Based on these findings and in direct response to these problems, we make recommendations for shifting objectives in anti-censorship work, as well as for technical directions and future research to address users' on-the-ground needs.