Internet, Satellite Communications Widen Political Debate in Thailand

Back in 2005, when Thai media magnate Sondhi Limthongkul began airing his rallies against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, like this one, he led a technical revolution in Thailand's political debate.
 
Sondhi used his ASTV network to place his speeches on the Internet, and then re-fed it to Thailand via satellite television, taking politics to a wider segment of the population.
 
Chris Baker, an author and commentator on Thai politics, says Sondhi took advantage of loopholes in Thailand's broadcast laws. Baker says that placed the message beyond the government's control.
 
"The ability to broadcast a signal over the Internet outside Thailand, so that it could be uploaded legally to a satellite, and that really made a huge change because the government didn't have the legal means to control that," he said. "Suddenly you had a level of political debate on television you had never seen before."
 
The government has almost total control over the broadcast airwaves. And during Mr. Thaksin's government, he set about putting limits on the print media, which had for decades set the tone for political debate.

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