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Tracking Foreigners By Sim


Pdoggg

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We'll see if this comes to pass.

 

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BANGKOK — A plan to require all foreigners in Thailand to use a special SIM card that can track their location will be reviewed by authorities Tuesday afternoon.

Announced last week by the national telecom regulator, the plan would require anyone – not just tourists but everyone who doesn’t hold a Thai passport – to use the new SIM card which would enable the authorities to track its owner’s location at any time, said the Secretary General of the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.

No exceptions would be made for resident aliens on long-term visas such as those for employment, marriage or retirement.

“We will separate SIM cards for foreigners and Thais,” Takorn Tantasith said Monday. “The location will always be turned on in this SIM card for foreigners. And it cannot be turned off.”

The plan was first announced Aug. 2 following a meeting between telecommunication regulators from 10 ASEAN countries in Phuket, where Takorn claimed he learned about the same plan from Malaysian and Singaporean officials.

While those countries require SIM cards be registered under valid IDs, as is also the case in Thailand, they do not seem to have any such tracking system. The technical specifics, as to whether it would rely on a smartphone’s GPS signal or another method were not clear.

Takorn said the rationale was to maintain national security and prevent the transnational crime.

Foreign tourists would be able to continue to use SIM cards brought in from other countries under roaming service and would not be required to turn their location on. They would only receive a location-tracking SIM card once they showed their passport to purchase one from a Thai service provider.

Takorn said he was unconcerned about any rights or privacy issues raised by the system, as he likened it to address foreigners writing in the address of their residences in immigration documents.

“We would just facilitate the police. So they could more easily track foreigners who enter the country and commit crimes,” he said. “The function is not in SIMs card for Thais because we can always easily track them.”

Takorn expects the policy to come into effect in six months.

While the system would raise concerns Thailand was moving closer to a Big Brother state, Takorn said foreigners shouldn’t worry, as police would need to seek a court order to track someone by their SIM card. He said any abuse of the system would be punished.

“If a service provider tracks the SIM’s location without a court order, they would be charged with a criminal offense.”

Takorn said it would also help maximize the use of pre-paid phone numbers in the country. Currently numbers must go unused 90 days before they are “recycled,” but he proposed that anyone leaving the country could have their number revoked after 15 days, instead.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2016/08/09/plan-track-foreigners-not-just-tourists-sim-cards-moves-forward/

 

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10 hours ago, sustra2 said:

Ok for me...they will track my path from soi 6 to soi 10 back and forward on and on and on and on......

This would have to be one of my favourite posts.  

But back to the topic - cost?   I buy one and put it in my spare phone and leave it at home;  I don't use a phone;  I use a Thai friend's phone;  etc etc.  Have they really thought it through?  And if I don't have a smart phone? (and I don't) will they give me one?  And will the people whom they are targeting comply with the rules? Another negative for tourism.

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20 hours ago, globetrotter said:

Hey PD what do think the chances of this actually  get passed are!? 

It passed in principal with some details to be ironed out.

They are now saying that expats such as those with a work, retirement, or marriage visa are exempt.  But communicating this to the smiling face behind the 7/11 counter may not be so easy.

The powers that be might wonder though why a certain Khun Globetrotter is always on the second floor be it on Soi 6 or Soi BJ.

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Thailand announced plans Tuesday that would require foreigners visiting the popular Southeast Asian country to have location-tracking SIM cards in their phones so authorities can easily monitor their whereabouts.

http://time.com/4446059/thailand-tourists-cell-phone-tracking/

 

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This would really suck for me unless I can keep the same phone number. I've had the same number for four years and use it to receive texts that allow me to use my bank account from home.

Also recycling phone numbers after 15 days could be a mess. When I got my current number four years ago it was recycled and back then there was a 180 day wait. I still got calls for whoever had the number before me.

Should be a thriving black market for Thais that buy SIMs for tourists.

22 hours ago, ciobha said:

Will the two bombs set off in Hua Hin today be a vehicle to drive this absurd idea to fruition, in the very foreseeable future, I wonder???

Remote detonation of bombs was one of the reasons that SIMs had to be registered recently.

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  • 6 months later...

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