internet crackdown

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BANGKOK: -- The government will launch a crackdown on pornographic material, offensive cartoons and Internet websites that contain inappropriate material, the government spokesman said yesterday.

Surapong Suebwonglee said more than five million websites from around the world feature rape in their content, causing widespread alarm among relevant authorities.

“There are also games about rape,” he said after he raised his concerns at the Cabinet meeting yesterday.

He said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is now planning to supervise the crackdown on pornography and has already demanded to see clear results from relevant authorities by December.

Surapong said the crackdown would target pornographic material, cartoons and websites. He believed technological systems must be in place to block pornographic websites operated overseas, while relevant officials would nail down and arrest operators of the offending sites in Thailand.

“With sincere effort from all relevant parties, the severity of the problem should dramatically drop,” he said.

--The Nation 2005-10-19