Thai minister defends controversial cybersecurity bill that would allow the wholesale seizure of private computers
- To become law, the bill would need to be sent to the country’s rubber-stamp parliament before its term expires ahead of elections early next year
The bill has drawn widespread criticism for authorising a newly created committee to access and seize computers and hard drives of individuals and private companies without a court order in cases of “reasonable suspicion” and “emergency”.
To become law, the bill would need to be sent to the National Assembly by the end of the year to fly through its rubber-stamp parliament before its term expires ahead of Thailand’s long-anticipated elections early next year.
This law ignores the people’s rights and freedom
The bill is currently being “finalised”, said Pichet Durongkaveroj, minister of digital economy and society, also on the committee, who defended it on Wednesday.
“Every country has a need to set a legal system whereby we can protect our society … because every sector is now using some kind of computer,” Pichet said.