The Minister of Information and Communication Technology boasted that the Ministry has blocked around 1,200 alleged lèse majesté websites since the coup took place on 22 May, after the latest pressure from the junta.

According to Matichon Online, Pornchai Rujiprapa, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, told the media after a ministerial meeting on Tuesday that the MICT has blocked about 1,200 websites which allegedly defamed the revered Thai monarchy.

The swift action came after Prayut Chan-o-cha, head of the Thai junta, pressed the MICT during a high-level meeting at Government House on Monday morning to closely monitor and block more lèse majesté websites and other websites that might affect public morale.

During the interview, Pornchai also mentioned that the MICT has always closely monitored many websites with lèse majesté content.

He added that these lèse majesté websites also breached Article 14 of the Computer Crime Act for sharing illegal content defaming the monarchy on the internet.

Since September, Prachatai has received reports that the Thai authorities reportedly planned to implement a surveillance device as of 15 September to sniff out Thai internet users, specifically targeting those producing and reading lèse majesté content.

After the coup in May, the number of lèse majesté prisoners outstripped any period in Thai history. Coup makers since the 1976 coup have regularly cited a surge of lèse majesté offences as a justification for overthrowing an elected government.