Thailand’s ruling military junta is reportedly planning to set up a Chinese-style Great Firewall in order to boost its ability to block or censor websites and services it doesn’t like. The proposal was apparently discovered online by a Thai Twitter user Prem Sichanugrist earlier this week, who stumbled across it in an official government repository of cabinet resolutions posted online, Telecom Asia reports.

The resolution from Thailand’s military leaders, led by General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, allegedly orders the Ministry of information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the national police to “set up a single internet gateway in order to control inappropriate websites and to control the flow of information into the country from overseas via the internet.”

Sichanugrist also came across a second order that gave agencies until September 4 to suggest which laws need to be amended to allow authorities to start blocking websites legally.

Prem Sichanugrist for one, was not particularly happy with what he found, tweeting:

Yes. Thailand is about to have The Great Firewall just like China, except it will be shittier and corrupted as hell https://t.co/Lqj7jj4E7i

— Prem Sichanugrist (@sikachu) September 22, 2015

As this author knows only too well, Thailand already blocks a substantial number of websites even without the proposed firewall. But the worry is that if Thailand does set up a China-style firewall, it will make it far easier for the authorities to block sites they deem to be inappropriate, with the result being that hundreds, if not thousands of new sites will also be blocked. Also, if the laws are changed as the second order suggests, it would mean the government no longer needs to use court orders to instruct ISPs to block websites.

Thailand’s current strategy for blocking websites it doesn’t agree with is a very simple one. It simply blocks site URLs, but it can’t stop certain kinds of traffic like VPN protocols and some messaging apps. From my personal experience, I can also say that enforcement also seems to be sporadic, with some ISPs following orders to censor certain websites, while others either ignore the order or were never told. China, on the other hand, implements some of the most advanced censorship technology in the world and can block numerous VPNs and smartphone applications.

Thailand has often blocked websites it deems to be politically sensitive, especially where the monarchy is concerned. Last year it blocked the website of U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail after it published a compromising video of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s bikini-clad wife “cavorting in just a tiny G-string as she feeds a pet dog cake”. As a further example of Thailand’s poor net-blocking strategy, we should note that while the Mail’s website is now in accessible in Thailand, the Android app still works just fine.

Image credit: Global Panorama via flickr.com