YouTube unbanned in Thailand, will help gov block dissident sites

Boing Boing reader Curtis says,

I'm in Thailand, and discovered I could access YouTube again. My blog entry describes what I was doing at the time. I guess I'm just happy to have YouTube back, and at the time wasn't really thinking about why I get to watch YouTube again.

Yes, the real news is that YouTube "has taken care of the matter by itself" by agreeing to filter content that might be deemed illegal for users in Thailand to see.

And I guess it's that part of the news that folks will find troubling, especially as press freedoms and free speech continue to be eroded in Thailand, and the Thai authorities are making moves to strengthen their censorship of films and television. Now YouTube is helping them clamp down on the Net.

Link

Previously on Boing Boing:

  • YouTube blocked in Thailand now?
  • YouTube blocked in Thailand for two weeks now
  • Web-censoring weather report: Thailand still blocking YouTube
  • YouTube remains blocked in Thailand, nevermind

    Update: BB reader Meade in Thailand says,

    I'm still getting the "Police Aleart" [sic] through my ISP, but the headline of one of the local English-language dailies today reads "Ban on YouTube lifted after deal". Link. I'll believe it when I (successfully connect to and) see it.