CNN has some news about a recent development in Turkey where the Turkish assembly, totally out of line with Turkey's commitment to EU membership (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expansion_of_the_European_Union#Turkey), has voted to have sites that "insult to the founder of modern Turkey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atat%C3%BCrk)" censored from entire Turkish population (http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/04/06/turkey.youtube.ap/index.html). This, just about a month after the decision to censor YouTube was reached by the Turkish courts. "On Thursday, lawmakers in the commission also debated whether the proposal should be widened to allow the Turkish Telecommunications Board to block access to any sites that question the principles of the Turkish secular system or the unity of the Turkish state -- a reference to Web sites with information on Kurdish rebels in Turkey."
The BBC reported in an article this morning that the Malaysian government (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Malaysia) may start using tough anti-terror laws to censor bloggers who insult either Islam or the country's king (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6915002.stm).
"The move comes as one of Malaysia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia)'s leading online commentators has been questioned by police following a complaint by the main governing party. The new rules would allow a suspect to be detained indefinitely, without being charged or put on trial. But officials insist the law is not intended to strangle internet freedom."
New Zealand's Parliament (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_New_Zealand) has voted itself far-reaching powers to control satire and ridicule of MPs (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=38302&c=1) in Parliament, attracting a storm of media and academic criticism. The new standing orders, voted in last month, concern the use of images of Parliamentary debates, and make it a contempt of Parliament for broadcasters or anyone else to use footage of the chamber for 'satire, ridicule or denigration.' The new rules are actually more liberal than the previous ones, but the threat of felony contempt is new.
A Turkish court has again blocked access to the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube because of clips allegedly insulting the country's founding father, according to reports Sunday.
It was the second time Turkey banned the site because of clips deemed disrespectful to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atat%C3%BCrk). It is illegal in Turkey to insult the revered figure, whose portrait still hangs in nearly all government offices nearly 70 years after his death.
Users trying to access the Web site from Turkey were met with notices in English and Turkish saying it was banned under an Ankara court order issued Jan. 17.
Last March, another court blocked access to YouTube for two days after a complaint that some clips insulted Ataturk, a war hero who founded Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. The ban was lifted after YouTube removed the offending videos.
In September, a court in the eastern city of Sivas ordered a ban after saying video on the site insulted Ataturk, President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the army, but the ban was never implemented.
Vatan newspaper reported Sunday that the current ban also was imposed because of videos that were allegedly disrespectful of Ataturk.
It was not clear how long the current ban would last. The state-run Anatolia said officials from YouTube, which is owned by Google, issued a statement saying the company hoped access would be re-established quickly.
The YouTube bans in Turkey have highlighted the country's troubled record on free expression. Several prominent Turkish journalists and writers - including Nobel literature prize winner Orhan Pamuk - have been tried for allegedly insulting "Turkishness."
Turkey is not alone in blocking YouTube. Last year, the Thai government banned the site for about four months because of clips seen as offensive to Thailand's revered monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
And in May, Moroccans were unable to access YouTube after users posted videos critical of Morocco's treatment of the people of Western Sahara, a territory that Morocco took control of in 1975. An official blamed a technical glitch, but could not explain its nature or why it affected only the YouTube site.
The Information and Communications Technology Ministry is to introduce an internet gateway system to block websites containing lese majeste content. ICT Minister Mun Patanotai will also hold a meeting with webmasters today to discuss measures to suppress lese majeste material.
The gateway system, which could cost between 100 and 500 million baht, could also be used to block other websites considered inappropriate, such as those of terrorist groups or selling pornography.
However, the ministry will focus first on websites with content deemed insulting to the Thai monarchy, Mr Mun said.
Ministry officials are looking into about a thousand websites, he said.
Mr Mun said the ministry has been working with the National Intelligence Agency and the police in cracking down on these sites.
Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said yesterday he has assigned relevant agencies, particularly the ICT Ministry, to take strong action against offenders.
Special Branch Police are monitoring five community radio stations that are also airing content that could be considered lese majeste, a source said.
Ayutthaya Governor Preecha Kamolbut has ordered authorities to monitor all provincial community radio and cable TV stations around the clock.
The police yesterday ordered officers to take immediate action against offenders without waiting for complaints.
Metropolitan Police chief Suchart Muenkaew said anybody making speeches against the monarchy in public places or via the mass media, particularly community radio stations, would face legal action without exemption.
He has assigned his bureau's investigation centre to set up a team to monitor all community radio broadcasts.
Members of the public can also report lese majeste by calling 191 or the police station in the area where the offence takes place,
Lese majeste is an offence under article 112 of the Criminal Code, which states that whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be jailed for three to 15 years.
Seventy-two websites have been ordered shut down by the courts in Thailand (http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/17173/court-orders-closure-of-72-websites) following the suicide of a 12-year-old boy who jumped from the sixth story of his school after his father banned him from playing computer games.
This brings more action from the court: "Some websites are rumored to take in over 100 million baht from online betting a night at peak periods, causing huge economic losses to the country. To prevent online gambling, the DSI, also a member of the internet safety committee, would notify all Internet service providers across the country about the court order. From now on, any provider found to encourage or provide online gambling will not only face a jail term and a fine, but also have his/her ISP license revoked by the ICT."
Thailand is no stranger (http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/10/29/1734255&tid=153) to Internet censorship (http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/05/1239213&tid=153) of various sites (http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/06/0137250&tid=153).