<p>A bill meant to replace Thailand's controversial Computer Crime Act of 2007 was put on hold by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on 19 April 2011 amidst strong criticism from civil society groups, media reports said.</p>

<p>Internet experts from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia expressed concern about the ongoing regional trend of targeting online intermediaries in attempts to control the flow of information in cyberspace.</p>

<p>The trial of webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn, who stands accused of 10 counts of violating the Computer Crime Act (CCA) 2007 as an intermediary who facilitated discussions later deemed as defamatory to Thailand&rsquo;s royal family, ran for five days before the Criminal Court decided to postpone it to September 1 this year.</p>

<p>The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and FORUM-ASIA, and the undersigned organizations, are deeply troubled by a Cambodia government plan to pass a restrictive law to regulate the activities of local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working inside the country.</p>

<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>As the countdown to the national elections in Burma commences, the view that it would be neither free nor fair is almost a foregone conclusion. With both mainstream and new media inside the country being suppressed by military authorities, and outsiders banned from covering, results of the farcical elections will be far from credible.</p>

<p>A Malaysian editor was charged on 2 September 2010 with publishing false information on his satirical blog, media reports said.</p> <p>The Associated Press said Irwan Abdul Rahman, better known as blogger &quot;Hassan Skodeng,&quot; and editor of the &quot;Malay Mail&quot; newspaper's lifestyle section was accused of publishing online content deemed &quot;obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with malicious intent.&quot;</p>

<p>A grenade believed to have been fired from an M79 grenade launcher exploded in front of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand in Bangkok on 31 August 2010, media reports said.</p>

<p>(SEAP/IFEX) - 2 August 2010 - It has been three years since the enactment of Thailand's controversial Computer Crime Act, a law that critics and experts say has had a troubling and detrimental impact on free expression in the country.</p>

<p>The Thai Television Station Joint Censorship Committee recently banned a TV ad that featured the violent events in Bangkok in May this year, saying that the commercial might spark another round of<br /> conflict, media reports said.</p>

<p>Thailand's Cabinet approved on 15 June 2010 the creation of an&nbsp;online crime agency that will go after violators of the Kingdom's&nbsp;l&egrave;se majest&eacute; law, media reports said.</p> <p>Agence France-Presse quoted the government as saying that the&nbsp;Bureau of Prevention and Eradication of Computer Crime was&nbsp;established to protect the royal family.</p> <p>&quot;The monarchy is crucial for Thai national security because it is&nbsp;an institution that unifies the entire nation,&quot; government&nbsp;spokesman Watchara Kanikar said.</p>

<p>A landmark cyber-crime case in Thailand commenced on 31 May&nbsp;2010, with the accused, website administrator Chiranuch&nbsp;Premchaiporn, officially denying the 10 counts of Computer Crime&nbsp;Act violation filed against her.</p> <p>The Criminal Court set the trial's first hearing on 4 February&nbsp;2011, even as the Court approved the prosecution's 14 witnesses and&nbsp;the defense's 13 witnesses in the pre-trial session.</p>