泰國威權政體下的言論自由：網絡空間與政治壓迫

Abstract

泰國威權體制有三個主要的行動者，分別是泰王、軍人、及官僚。他們達成的政治共識，又稱為普密蓬共識。其以國王為政治霸權，與軍人及官僚分享政治權力並共同維護政權的政治穩定。然而，自從這種共識崩潰後，泰王失去了政治霸權，引發了反對國王及軍政府的政治運動。作為回應，政治壓迫亦隨之展開。在這種沒有共識的體制下，泰國憲法既未能保護人民的權利及自由，也未能限制政權的權力。政治運動中的泰國人民，已成為政府和法院政治壓迫的受害者。 在高科技、網際網路的時代，網路空間已成為泰國民眾進行政治運動的場所。雖然網路空間的本質是沒有邊界的，但泰國政府還是成功地在網路空間中劃出了一條邊界。其通過包括《電腦犯罪法》、《個人信息保護法》、《網路安全法》等三個重要的法律，來控制網路空間的言論自由，防止泰國人民進行政治運動。雖然政府聲稱這三部法律對於維護網路安全至關重要，但制定這些法律的目的事實上是為了壓製網路空間上的政治運動。這些法律造成使用者和服務提供者自我審查，侵犯了隱私權，並給泰國私營部門帶來了過多的法律負擔。此外，泰國政府制定了促使其在網際網路上的宣傳和控制網路空間內容的政策，其中一部分的政策削弱了泰國的網路安全，另一部分則促進了網路空間的政府監控。 本研究探討泰國威權體制的背景，分析泰國的網路安全法律和政策，以檢驗和指出這些法律與政策如何導致政治壓制。此外，本研究進一步做出改革網路安全法律及政策的建議，以改善網路空間的言論自由，使其成為泰國政治運動的安全場所。

The Thai authoritarian regime has three institutional players: monarchy, military, and bureaucrats, who together made a political consensus, known as the Bhumibol Consensus, to share political power and preserve the regime’s political stability. Since the collapse of such consensus, however, the institution of the monarchy has lost its political hegemony, leading to political movements opposing the monarchy and military-dominated government. In response, political suppression has begun. Under this regime without consensus, the Constitution of Thailand has failed to protect people’s rights and freedoms; moreover, it has also failed to limit the regime’s power. Thai people in political movements have become victims of political suppression by their government and judicial institutions. In the age of the internet and technology, cyberspace has become a place for Thai people to form their political movements. Yet, despite the nature of cyberspace which has no boundary, the Thai government has successfully created a boundary in cyberspace to limit people’s freedom of expression by passing a set of laws, including the Computer-Related Crime Act B.E. 2550 (2007), the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019), and the Cybersecurity Act B.E. 2562 (2019). Although the government claims that these three laws are essential for maintaining cybersecurity, these laws are created with the intention of the government to suppress freedom of expression in cyberspace. These laws promote self-censorship of service users and service providers, violate the right to privacy, and impose excessive legal burdens on Thai private sectors. Besides, the Thai government has made policies to promote its propaganda on the internet and to control the content in cyberspace; some policies weaken the country’s cybersecurity, while others even facilitate surveillance in cyberspace. This Thesis explores the background of the Thai authoritarian regime and analyzes Thai cybersecurity laws and policies to examine and point out how these laws and policies lead to political suppression. Furthermore, this Thesis provides suggestions to reform cybersecurity laws and policies to improve freedom of expression in cyberspace and make it a safer place for political movements in Thailand.